CHERUB: Family Ties
by Lulu Bee
Summary: Anna and Emma are back again, ready for anything, and everything. This includes, finding their father, dealing with this stupid street gang once and for all and figuring out where the hell their mum's got to. Oh, and don't forget the romance problems.
1. Newer Beginnings Older Friends

Ok, here's the first chapter of the (hopefully) long awaited sequel.

* * *

><p>Chapter 1<p>

Lola Simons was worried. It had been at least 3 months since she had fled to America. No one should one where she was. She should have faded away, become forgotten. But then there was The Note. It had arrived in the post the other day, wedged tightly between two other letters; the bill and an advert on house insurance. There wasn't a name, or a return address, just the message.

**Lola Simons,**

**I know you're here. Meet me at 10 O'clock on Sunday night, outside the Bridge Office.**

**An old friend.**

Lola stared at the note again. It was printed out, and the paper and been folded and unfolded so many times that the words were starting to be rubbed off.

Who was this mysterious sender? Should she go? What would happen if she did?

Lola thought of Michael. What would Michael have done?

That was how she got things done most days. That was why she'd moved here in the first place. Michael had always told her that, if something happened to him, something fatal, she should get herself and the children out of the country.

"Find your old contacts, get new documents, and get the kids and yourself away. Go to America," The words he once had told her rang in her head again, and she winced.

The children. Every day, she hated herself more for leaving them. How could she have? Every day came the same, defensive reply; I was barely sober, I panicked, I didn't think. When I got to America, it was too late to turn back. They're all fine, nothing will happen to them. But still, Lola worried.

She glanced nervously at the modern digital clock sitting on the table in front of her. It was 9:30 pm, Sunday night. Lola knew in her heart, that she would have to go. If this mystery note sender was intending to harm her, he could have done much sooner, if he was holding back for some reason, she could take him.

Lola clenched her fists defiantly, she hadn't had a drink since the moment she'd set foot in America. She'd started going to the gym regularly and had got a reliable, decent job. She wasn't drunk or helpless anymore; she could defend herself now. She marched forward and wrenched her coat off the peg, slipping it on in one smooth gesture.

Outside, it was raining heavily, so she picked up an umbrella and headed out hesitantly. Bridge Office, she thought, the first place I went to when I arrived here. Whoever has contacted me, found me from there. Next time, I will have to cover my tracks better.

Of course, Lola didn't mean she intended to _kill_ anyone, simply make sure that there was absolutely no way of her being tracked. Remaining inconspicuous, for instance, no one would take notice of her, no one would remember her if they were asked about her. She berated herself instantly, remembering that she had worn a bright green tracksuit top, and a long skirt with multicoloured dots all over it.

Flouncy, attractive skirts weren't going to help her blend in around here. Plus, no one could run well in a skirt.

How vain and obsessed with my looks I was, Lola reflected. She wasn't vain any more, though; many cruel days of hard work and little nourishment had made sure of that. She hadn't exactly been rich when she had arrived in America, and the rents on houses don't pay themselves.

The Bridge Office loomed ahead, and Lola walked faster in anticipation. Just get this over with, she thought to herself.

Suddenly, a man stepped out of the doorway in front of her.

"Lola Simons! Haven't seen you in about 12 years! You're looking good," The man grinned.

Lola gasped, "Jason! Are you the one who contacted me?"

Jason smiled, taking her arm and leading her inside, "Let's just say that work found its way back to you. Right now, you're needed where you can help the most, so we were sent out to give you a little push in the right direction,"

Lola shook her head, "I had no idea I was being followed,"

"Lola, _every_ retired agent is followed," Jason rolled his eyes and pushed open the door. The room was empty, but Jason lead Lola across to the door in the far corner, "What you've got to worry about, is whether it's MI6 that stalks you, or the CIA, which are so totally opposed to having British spies working here in the US of A," He drawled, opening the door.

It led into a small room. Uncomfortably small. Lola and Jason walked in.

"Is there any point to this?" Lola demanded.

"Sure, this is our secret entrance!" Jason said brightly, and knocked on the wall several times. Nothing happened.

"Damn thing keeps breaking," Jason muttered. He knocked again, five times.

There was a click from within the wall, and suddenly, the floor disappeared. Lola gasped in surprise as she plummeted downwards.

"Didn't they get rid of these years ago?" She yelled above the howling wind.

Jason shrugged. Or at least he tried to, "Old model. We are _trying_ to remain a secret here,"

They tumbled into the room below, groaning and swearing.

"I hate those entrances!" Scowled Lola. She pulled herself to her feet and looked around. The room was dark, only one light centred on them. So that they would be blinded temporarily whilst whoever was down here could make sure that they were who they were supposed to be.

Someone stepped out of the dark and into the light. Someone very familiar.

"Commander Green," Lola greeted respectfully.

"Nice to see you again, agent," Commander Green smiled.

Lola scowled, "I _retired_. I am _not_ an agent,"

Jason came up behind her and patted her on the back, "You _were_ retired. As of several days ago, you're officially back on the team. Welcome back to MI6, Lola,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 2~Emma<p>

"Day 96 in the Basic Training Compound. We are getting ready to head out of campus to the airport. In the back room you can hear Large screaming at someone. It has come as a surprise to everyone that Mr Large has not yet been strangled by one of the trainees. I-"

"Zack! Quit it with the Big Brother impressions, you're giving me a fucking head ache!" Tess snapped.

"She has a point. Is it even on anymore, anyway? And if it is, who even watches that program? It's all Waterloo Road and Come Fly with Me and Eastenders and Coronation Street now." Lilly sighed.

"I take it you're not a fan of those?" I grinned, looking around the room.

Everyone was lazing around doing nothing while Large made the final preparations. We were supposed to be polishing our boots or some stupid shit, but we had plenty of time to do that later, when we were in the minibus.

There were only six of us left now; Gary had left ages ago, of course, but since then David had quit. He had got up to 60 days, then woke up that morning, and walked out. Admittedly, everyone reckoned it was because he's spent the last 3 days outside in the cold and rain for some reason or other and during one of our karate lessons, Zack had kicked him hard in the chest. He'd been to see the nurse but had claimed he was fine. I guessed he hadn't been, since he dropped out a few days after. Must've sucked; being over halfway through and having to stop, knowing full well that you'd have to face it again.

Large ducked into our room several minutes later and consequently started screaming at everyone, "Stand up straight immediately! Get your stuff! March out! Hurry up! We're running on a tight schedule, you know!"

I rolled my eyes at Raine and we grabbed our backpacks and headed to the door together.

"Ah, the great venture into the Alps. The part of Basic Training we've all been looking forward to," I said sarcastically.

"What, you mean the end of it?" Zack muttered in an undertone from behind us.

"I heard that!" Snapped Large.

"I bet you did," Zack replied cockily.

I shook my head. 94 days of Basic Training hadn't changed Zack a bit. He was exactly the same cocky annoying brat he'd been the day he started.

We tramped silently to the edge of the basic training compact, where Speaks and Smoke were waiting for us. Large arrived a couple of minutes later. He clapped his hands in childlike glee and turned to us.

"Now the _real_ fun begins!" He chuckled, and I was suddenly _very_ worried.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3~Anna<p>

"3 weeks and four days left, Anna! You excited yet?" Dan asked teasingly, walking into my room.

"Do I _look _excited, Dan?" I asked despairingly.

"Course not, that's why I asked," Dan told me, sitting on the edge of my chair, forcing me to move along.

"Right, you just spotted my door while you were just going down my corridor, and thought, 'Hey, I wonder if Anna's excited for Basic Training?'"

Dan shrugged, "Pretty much, yeah,"

"You can't lie worth a shit, Dan,"

"Well, I was pretty convincing when I told Mr Halford that you weren't feeling very well and had gone back to your room yesterday. This is the 5th time you've missed ICT, you can't keep skiving,"

"It's sooo boring though!" I complained, "I could do all of that shit blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back. Half asleep!"

Dan rolled his eyes, "Suuuuurrrreeee."

"I'll prove it, then!" I scowled.

"The only way you can prove it is if you go to a lesson and do the work you're set. It's ICT again this afternoon, and I've told Mr Halford you'll be there," Dan said.

I groaned, "That is sooo black mailing me into going!"

Dan grinned, "But it's working, isn't it?"

"Shove off. Apparently, I've got to do get some excuses prepared for the lesson this afternoon," I told him, elbowing his side until he fudged off my chair.

"See you then," Dan stuck his tongue out cheekily.

"No you won't, I'll have moved to a higher group by then, and you'll be stuck in the bottom group still, with all the seven year olds! Maybe you'll see my sister! I'm sure Gabby will let you be her partner if you ask nicely,"

Dan grinned, "I still can't believe that Meryl insisted that you follow the rules and start in the bottom group of ICT until you proved that you could do all of the work. Even when she knows that you could hack her account whenever you wanted. Liam's still waiting for you to show him how to do that, by the way,"

I scowled, "He can keep waiting; those are trade secrets,"

"I'll go break the news to him gently," Dan said as he waltzed out of the room.

"See you around!" I yelled after him.

"Uh huh," He shouted back, retreating to wherever he retreated to.

I scowled to myself and turned back to my computer, "Whatever,"

Checking that the door was shut, I brought the word document back up and read through it again.

It was all of the facts I knew about my Dad's disappearance. It was a very small list.

I sighed, tapping my fingers off my desk. I wondered if Meryl had told us the _whole_ truth. It wasn't exactly as if she would be completely honest with us anyway. And it wasn't first hand news anyway; MI6 had given her _most_ of the information, which she'd diluted down to the minimum need to know facts. I bit my lip, and brought up the internet.

Arron was already online and waiting for me.

_Hey, what's up, little sister!_

_Hiya, Arron. How's school?_

_Fine, great, actually. My foster parents aren't all to bothered about getting up at 6 to drive me to the train station everyday, and I'm just glad everything can go back to some sort of normal. Of course, normal isn't really at the top of everyone else's priorities. Everywhere I go it's; Hi, Arron, where have you been recently? I heard you hadn't been in for a few weeks, what happened? And then you just get the freaks who take the piss; Hey Arron, where you been? Kidnapped by gangsters or something?_

_Funny, there the 1s with the closest guess._

_You think? It's actually __is__ kinda funny. Apart from when you give in 2 the urge to tell them the truth. Then they freak out._

_Ha-ha, bet they thought u were teasing them :P_

_Yup, bwt still..._

_Hey, got a girlfriend yet?_

_No, I'm busy studying_

_Freak. I seriously worry about u Arron, u hav no social life_

_As opposed to you, since u have least 1 admirer_

_Who? Srsly, tell us, I'm curious..._

_You actually don't know?_

_Y the fuck wud I ask u if I knew!_

_... -_-_

_Yeah, whatevs. Gotta go, Dan blackmailed me in2 going 2 an ICT lesson :'(_

_Anna doesn't lyk ICT! o_0_

_Shut up, the shit we do is so easy it's beyond boring -_-_

_Enjoy! :P_

_Fuck off :[_

_LOL!_

I shut down my computer and grabbed my bag full of books, checking the clock as I went out of my room. 2:45 exactly. My free period was officially over, and if I didn't hurry, I'd be spending my next few weeks running laps. I hated ICT.

Dan was standing outside the ICT room, waiting for me.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't turn up!" He whispered teasingly as we entered the room.

Mr Halford was waiting for the remaining stragglers who hadn't got in yet. Dan and I grabbed some computers at the back of the classroom.

We didn't have to wait too long for everyone to arrive, since punishments were harsh for any late comer. We logged into our computer and Mr Halford began a lecture on 'The Ways of the Internet'.

Halfway through, I stuck my hand up. Mr Halford looked at me in surprise. Everyone else was busy watching the 'short' animation on how to use a search engine effectively. Seriously, this stuff _was_ for seven year olds.

"Yes, Miss Simmons?" He inquired (a stupid word I found in one of those weird books called a dictionary, in the middle of an English lesson).

"I already know this stuff," I told him.

Mr Halford raised an eyebrow, "Do you?"

His tone of voice told me he was amused by my statement.

"Yup, a seven year old could memorise this," I replied, adding the insult just to be annoying.

"Oh, really?" Mr Halford's eyebrows were almost at his non-existent hair line.

Dan gave me a warning look which I immediately ignored.

"Uh huh, my sister, Gabby, could recite this whole section of by heart if you asked her. And she _is_ seven. Well, eight actually, but that's beside the point,"

"Gabby Simons? Yes, she did exceed expectations in the ICT area," Mr Halford nodded, absent minded.

Dan snorted, "Honestly, she told me herself she cheated that test!"

Mr Halford turned his attention to Dan, "Well, I'll have to tell her off for cheating, wont I?"

"No, you won't," I told him cockily, "Because I was the one who told her how to get the answers, so it's _me_ that's to blame. It wasn't even hard to hack into the main system and print out the answers."

Mr Halford's eyebrows shot up again.

"Watch it, your eyebrows are gonna end up stuck on your bald patch. Then you'd have a problem," I told him.

Several people stared at me in disbelief; I was _so_ gonna get punished for this.

"Miss Simons, if you believe you're so good at hacking, why don't you demonstrate to the whole class?" Spluttered Mr Halford, turning red.

"If you say so, but it's no fun if there's not some sort of bet attached. If I hack what you want, then what's in it for me?"

"No punishment, and I will move you up several groups," Replied Mr Halford frostily, "If you fail to hack the account, you get a severe punishment for interrupting my lesson, insulting me, missing several lessons, helping your sister cheat in a test and not doing what you were told."

"It'll be good not to fail then, won't it?" I grinned unnervingly at him, "What'd you like me to hack?"

"I want you to find the project that... Andrew Cleary is working on. I believe you know him?"

"Sure do, he's, like, going out with my sister or something," I replied, hoping that that comment would get back to Andrew.

I turned to my computer and brought up the main system log in. "This is just too easy," I muttered as I by-passed it in a matter of seconds.

"I should, like, start up a business and charge people to hack into accounts and steal other people's homework, or get answers for tests."

I arrived in the Teacher's Only Section, and selected Mr Halford's name, then looked through the list of his pupils. Andrew Cleary was almost right at the top. I clicked on him and looked through his files.

"Wow, did you know someone on Andrew's floor charged him for some history notes on an exam he's taking next lesson?" I whistled, "Clever guy,"

Dan leaned over my shoulder, "How can you tell that?" He demanded.

I rolled my eyes, "From the folder that says; Revision Notes For Upcoming Test 14/3/11 Bought From Room 5 Left Along Corridor. Sheesh, he really is fussy about details, isn't he?"

Dan snickered, "We so have to tell him that you went looking through his stuff,"

"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Snapped Mr Halford.

"Sure thing! Here we go, Personal Projects Of 2011. March. This File Here. Freaking hell, the guy named a folder This File Here. He, like, did directions and all!" I clicked on the last file and a word document popped up on the screen, named; New Phone... or I-Pod Touch?

"Oh. My. God. That. Is. So. Sad. It is actually unbelievable," Dan gaped at the document; which stated how much pocket money Andrew had, and how much he'd have to save up, for how many weeks.

I grabbed my phone.

"What are you doing?" Dan asked, confused.

"Evidence," I grinned evilly, turning the camera on my phone on.

"I am never going to let Andrew forget this!" Dan chuckled.

Mr Halford seemed amazed that I'd actually managed to hack into Andrew's account.

I smiled cheerfully up at him as I switched off my phone.

"So, I take it my next lesson will be spent with someone of a higher intellect?" I asked cheekily.

And right on time, the bell rang.

I got up and walked out with Dan.

"I love ICT lessons," I sighed.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4~Anna<p>

"Dan, you know how you mentioned you found that memory stick full of information on those guys who kidnapped me?" I asked as I sat down next to Dan at dinner.

"What about it?" Demanded Dan cautiously.

"Wellllllll... what sort of files did they have on it?" I hedged, unsure how to ask my question without tipping off Dan.

Dan shrugged, "All sorts of files. They had a file on you, you know,"

"Really?" I asked, my question forgotten, "Wow. That's kinda... stalker-ish, actually,"

"Maybe, but considering you were kidnapped by them because of your Dad and all, maybe not,"

Was it just me, or was Dan trying to hint to me that he knew why I was asking these questions. I narrowed my eyes at his innocent face.

"Yeah..." I muttered suspiciously.

A tray clunked down next to us, making us jump in surprise.

"Hi you two, what's up? Seemed to be having A Moment," Andrew grinned at us.

Dan and I scowled in unison, to which Andrew smirked at even more at.

"Not long now, Andrew, only a few more days, then you can go piss off and snog Emma," I told him, and was rewarded by seeing his face flush scarlet.

"Fuck you!" He muttered, "And, anyway, it's not like you two are far away from that stage,"

I turned to Dan, "Hey, remember that lesson we had this morning. The teacher saw it fit to... how should I say this? To question my abilities?"

Andrew looked at me nervously, guessing from my tone that nothing good was going to come of this.

Dan grinned and fished my phone out of his pocket, "Oh, _that_ lesson. Yes, that was _very_ funny. Hey, Andrew, only a few more weeks!"

"Until what?" Andrew demanded eyes glued to the phone Dan was waving about.

"Until you can afford an I-pod Touch!" I gushed excitedly. "And, Dan, why the _hell_ is _my phone_ in _your pocket_?"

Andrew was looking at us horrified. Dan looked sheepish, "I spotted it on the floor and was going to give it back to you but..."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't worry, Dan, I know that you were just using it as an excuse to see me!" I said dramatically.

"No, seriously, it really was on the floor. I nearly stood on it and broke it," Dan told me.

"So much for romantics," I sighed.

Dan rolled his eyes, "Could you be any less dramatic?" He demanded.

"Sure."

"Ok then,"

"Fine,"

"What are you waiting for?"

"What do you mean, 'what are you waiting for?'"

"Become less dramatic!" Dan waved his hands about in the air to emphasise his point.

"Why should I?" I demanded incredulously.

"You just said you would!" Dan sighed, exasperated.

"_Noooo_, I said I _could_ be less dramatic, I didn't say I _would_ be less dramatic,"

"'Course, silly me," Dan muttered dryly.

"Yup, you're completely stupid," I told him, ruffling the hair on his head and standing up. I paused and turned back around, "Andrew?"  
>Andrew was <em>still<em> looking horrified at my phone which Dan _still_ had.

"Yeah?" He asked quietly.

"When you get your I-pod touch, can I have a go with it?" I asked.

Andrew groaned and bashed his head off the table.

"My life. Is over," He muttered to the table.

"I think we should go while Andrew's still having a mental breakdown, Dan,"

Dan got up, "Yeah, good idea,"

* * *

><p>Ta-da! So, what do you think?<p> 


	2. The Mobile Phone Stealer

Random chapters. I doth loveth them 3

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

Jeremy hated everyone. Officially. His Dad was in jail, and he was in hiding. Jeremy hated his life. For the past week he and the remainder of his Dad's friends, who had managed to get away, had been hiding out in the middle of nowhere. No TV, no phone signal, no electricity, no hot water, no heating. Nothing!

His brother, two sisters and mother had fled to Australia. Who wouldn't, if their father had just been sent to prison with charges of conspiracy against the government? But Jeremy hadn't wanted to go there. He'd wanted to stay, and help break his father out of jail. To begin to rebuild their organization that had terrorized Britain for so many years. So Jeremy had met up with the most faithful of his father's friends, and together they had fled to a safe house unknown to virtually anyone. Jeremy and his father were careful. No one would be able to trace the house back to them. His Dad had made sure of that. And this time, it really does mean that people were killed.

Jeremy had a small cupboard-like room for his bedroom, but he didn't have to share with anyone, which was better than nothing. Jeremy wasn't very appreciative of that though, since, in his eyes, the house they were all staying in was his, therefore he should get the biggest room all to himself, and have all of the luxuries. Jeremy was a spoilt kid, no one could deny that.

Right now, he could hear the grumbling of the five men who shared the three other bedrooms in the house. They were discussing, as they usually did here, when there was nothing to do, they were discussing Jeremy's father. These men were completely dedicated to their job. They were committed to springing Jeremy's father. Right now, however, there was no news to work with. No one knew exactly what jail Jeremy's father was being sent to, so no one could plan anything. They just had to wait and see...

* * *

><p>Chapter 6~Emma<p>

The next 6 or so hours were spent in more luxury than I'd had in months. I didn't even mind that the minibus we took stank of someone's sick, or that I had more than one uncomfortable spring sticking into my back the whole time.

Jonah and Lilly were sitting talking together at the very back of the bus, leaving Raine, Tess and I with Zack, who seemed determined to make sure that we knew that boys were just as good as girls.

"I mean," Zack was saying, "We started off in Basic Training with... actually, we started off even... but Gary and David only dropped out because of unlikely accidents!"

"Yeah, whatever," Tess sighed, turning back to us, looking immensely bored, "So, any ideas what you're gonna do once this shit's over?" She asked us.

Raine shrugged self-consciously, "Hide out in my room for the next few weeks and only eat junk food,"

"Same, probably; Lying in 'til 3pm, eating ice cream and fish fingers and chips, showering all this god damned mud off. I feel like a freaking mud monster for crying out loud. If I am ever half way clean again, I will chuck my crappy phone out of the window and by a new one," Tess declared, "What about you, Emma?"

It was my turn to shrug, "I dunno really, haven't thought that far ahead..." I mumbled.

Tess rolled her eyes, "Nope, not Emma The Annoyingly Over-logical," She teased.

David had come up with that name sometime into our 7th week, after a one of Large's increasingly impossible challenges. I'd worked out the majority of it using logic, and being the cleverest of us trainee's I'd been dubbed the groups geek, and way too logical for my own good.

"Well, she did kinda do the challenge by herself though, in the end. You lot hardly lifted a finger to help," Raine pointed out.

Tess' grin widened, as did Zack's, who had been listening in on our conversation.

"Well, _we_ did practically all of the next challenge without her help, seem as though you had to collect bricks from the bottom of that pool/lake thingy that no one ever knows what to call!" Zack retorted.

"People, please! This time is allotted for rest and relaxation, not arguing over who did what! Jesus! You sound like my dead old Grandma when she got in an argument!" Lilly told us.

"Was she dead and arguing? Or did she die after all of the arguing? Just to clarify," Zack asked cheekily.

Lilly kicked him on the shin.

"She was alive you idiotic, insensitive jerk!" Tess snapped at her brother.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Zack yelped, dodging Tess' punch and spotting Raine's, Jonah's and my glares, "Over reactive bunch off morons," He muttered to himself.

"Enough squabbling in the back!" Large snapped, swerving the bus violently around a round-a-bout and jerking us all madly out of our seats.

"Ouch!" I yelped, as Raine accidentally elbowed me in the eye.

"Sorry!" She winced sympathetically, examining my face.

Zack leaned in to look to, "Awesome! That's gonna bruise!" He grinned.

We glowered at him.

"Shut. Up. You. Moronic. Shit head," Tess growled.

"Fine!" Zack sighed, exasperated, "I was just having some fun!"

"Go have fun somewhere else," I scowled at him, prodding my eye cautiously.

Mr Large pulled in suddenly at a roadside cafe. I could hear, suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing.

"Be quiet in the back you lot!" Large yelled back at us.

Zack gave him the finger. Tess made hushing noises at us and we leaned in close to catch some of the conversation.

"Large here," Grunted Mr Large. A quiet voice came out of the phone, just too low for us to hear. Fortunately for us, unfortunately for our ears, we didn't need to hear the voice; Large's reaction told us everything.

"What do you mean, 'It's no longer safe'? I've been planning this for weeks! I don't care about some blithering avalanche!" Large roared.

We all looked at each other, mostly out of confusion. Then Lilly jumped and mouthed to us; "The Alps! We were going to the Alps!" And almost all of us made the connection.

"Eh?" Zack said aloud.

"There's been an avalanche in the Alps, you idiot! It's not safe for us to do our Basic Training there!" Tess hissed at him under her breath.

"Oh," Zack mumbled.

By this time, we'd missed a whole chunk of Large's conversation, and only just caught Large's grumpy "Bye,"

Large turned to face us, looking very put off, angry, and also slightly disappointed.

"So, it looks like the lovely freezing cold Alps will have to wait for another set of Trainees," He told us sinisterly, then he turned back and pulled out of the car park, executing a perfect U-turn and drove back out onto the motorway.

"Where's the next turn off, Smoke?" He snapped.

"Three miles," She replied testily, "We're going to Scotland, then?" She asked, almost as an afterthought.

"There's been an avalanche in the Alps. Apparently it's unsafe and no one should go anywhere near that region for the next couple of days," Large stamped his foot down and we sped up with a jolt, everyone slamming into their seats. Large slowed down after a minute or so of silence.

"Great. I love Scotland. Home of the Highland cows. Or was that Ireland?" Zack grinned.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7~Anna<p>

Gabby was sitting waiting for me in her room after dinner. I walked over and hugged her. Her friend Flo was sitting next to Gabby, grinning at us.

"Heya Anna!" Flo grinned.

Gabby ran up and hugged me, whilst Flo flopped back on Gabby's bed.

"How's life?" I asked, dropping myself onto the bed and forcing Flo to shuffle off onto one of the beanbags.

Gabby rolled her eyes, "Its fine. Although I did get several glares from Mr Halford. He doesn't seem to be very happy today,"

I had to smother my laughter with Gabby's pillow, remembering the ICT lesson.

"Where's Dan, anyway?" Flo asked while Gabby stared curiously at me. I sat up properly and grinned at her. I'd forgotten that she and Dan were cousins.

"He's gonna be over in half an hour. Poor sucker still has homework to do,"

Gabby raised an eyebrow at me, "And you don't?"

I shrugged mischievously at her, "Haven't started yet. But who cares!"

"I do, since I had to suffer through you complaining last time that your detention was so unfair and that it so wasn't your fault," Gabby prodded me.

"Welllllllllllllllllllll... I'll do it when I get back," I promised.

"'Course you will," Gabby muttered patronisingly.

"Meh," I muttered, "Your right, I won't. But that's because I have to do um... something else!"

"Something else what?" Dan asked from the doorway.

I spun around and tried not to look guilty, "Ooohhhh, nothing, just exploring the library for... a book to read?"

Luckily Flo interrupted further questions by hugging Dan. I got up and stretched, looking at my imaginary watch. "Would you look at the time!" I declared, marching towards the door, "I've really gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow, I promise!"

Gabby shook her head at me and waved at me as I dragged Dan away.

"So, what _are_ we doing instead of your homework?" Dan asked me as I marched to the library.

"I'm... starting a new project," I told Dan. A project involving hacking top secret files and figuring out where the hell my Dad had disappeared to.

Dan looked at me as if I'd gone mad, "Anna, you never put more effort than necessary into _any_ school work, or project,"  
>"I know... I'm... doing something new, though!" I muttered, finding a computer in a secluded area of the library and logging into Andrew's account.<p>

"Hey! How did you find out Andre's password? And why didn't you tell me?" Dan demanded.

I gave him a withering look.

"Ok, ok," Dan held up his hands in defeat, "You're never gonna tell me any interesting shit, I get it," He sighed dramatically.

"Just 'cos I don't tell you _one_ tiny, insignificant thing!" I threw my hands in the air, "And you've still got my phone!" I accused him.

"Dan fished it out of his pocket and dangled it in front of me, "I'll trade it for Andrew's password," He grinned teasingly.

"No fair! Give it!" I demanded, trying to snatch it back.

"Nope! Not 'till you give us Andrew's password!"  
>"Fishtails!" I growled at him, "That's his password, now gimme the phone!" I leaped at him, and he jumped aside.<p>

"You're lying, Anna, you just made it up!" Dan grinned.

I narrowed my eyes at him menacingly, "Give. Me. My. Phone."

Dan grinned and danced away from me, behind a bookshelf. I darted after him, and he sprinted off, heading for the door.

"No running in the library!" Came a disembodied shriek from the librarian.

"Who cares the idiot's got my phone!" I yelled back, diving at Dan and catching his elbow. He shrugged me off and continued running, still grinning.

"You're gonna have to be faster than that, Anna!" He shouted at me as we ran out of the library.

"Give that back, Whitness!" I snarled/screamed.

Dan was laughing now. He skidded into another corridor, past a ton of classrooms where some poor saps were still having lessons.

"Daniel Whitness, so help me! When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna kill you!" I threatened.

"Oooooohhhh, terrifying," He shouted, still laughing.

A teacher burst out of a classroom ahead and I accidentally barged into her.

"Sorry, blame him!" I apologised without stopping.

"Detention!" She squawked after us, and set off behind me.

"My arse! You don't even know who to give the detention to!" I replied, skidding around another corner and shoving my way through a crowd of twelve year olds and out the door.

"I do now, Anna Simons!" The teacher shrieked.

"Shit! I blame you, Dan!"

"Yeah, it's your own fault, really," Dan responded, sprinting across the athletics track.

I looked behind and saw that the teacher, whoever she was, had given up. I couldn't blame her; I might be able to run for miles with heavy backpacks full of random shit that was... well, heavy, but that didn't mean I would want to if I had the choice. Unfortunately, I didn't; my phone was being held captive.

Dan had reached the other side of the athletics track and was heading into the trees. I slowed as I reached them; I couldn't see where Dan had gone.

As I entered the woods, a wave of cool air rushed over me. It hadn't been overly hot outside, but all the running and the sun had made me sweaty, and even my messy plait that I'd tugged my hair into this morning, was sticking to the back of my neck. I was only wearing a tank top and three quarter khaki shorts, but I felt boiling in them.

I fanned myself with my hand as I peered around the gloom of the trees around me.

"Dan?" I yelled, seeing no sign of him. I walked further in and looked around again, panting slightly.

"Daaaann?" I yelled again.

Silence. Apart from the chatter of the birds and the distant shout of kids, of course.

"Ok! Fine! I give up; I'll give you the bloody password!" I shouted in frustration.

"Nah, I've changed my mind, I don't want the password anymore," Dan's voice came from behind me. I jumped and spun around. Dan was only a few inches away, breathing heavily too.

I started to speak, but found I couldn't. I was overly aware of how close Dan was. I looked upwards at him, feeling slightly off balance.

"What _do_ you want?" I asked, clearing my throat.

Dan slowly cupped my face in his hands, and leaned in. The woods suddenly seemed another place entirely. I closed my eyes as our lips touched, and pulled Dan closer, pressing my lips harder against his, filled with a sudden desire that scared even me. Dan slid his arms around me, his hands pushing against the small of my back, sharing my desire.

We broke apart, breathless. I looked back up at Dan, my confidence suddenly gone. I sucked in a shuddery gasp. Dan smiled back at me, equally unconfident, and, suddenly, I remembered my conversation with Arron earlier. About a certain admirer. I bit my lip and wondered if I needed to say anything.

Unfortunately, that decision was taken away from me by a nosy idiot that seemed to have been hanging around in the woods at a very suspicious time.

"Well, _that_ was unexpected," Liam grinned evilly at us from behind a tree.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8~Anna<p>

Dan and I blushed furiously, moving to a more... distancey-distance away from each other. I glared at Liam.

"Do _not_ repeat any of this to anyone," I growled threateningly.

"Not _anyone_, perhaps, but Andrew and Elizabeth and Tom probably. Oh, and Emma when she gets out of basic training," Liam shrugged, "Possibly a few other people too."

"If you do I will personally kill you. Then bring you back to life to kill you again. And repeat that. Several. Times." I warned.

Liam raised a clearly unbothered eyebrow, "Oh, really?"

I took a menacing step forward, "Yes, really, Liam O'Connor, now get the hell out of here before I get my cricket bat,"

Liam snorted, "You don't have one! What kind of useless empty threat is that? What bat?"

"This one," I snarled, snapping a random branch of a tree. Please, please let this not be a puny twig-like branch, I prayed. Thankfully, it wasn't. To be honest, it was kinda a bit too heavy. I hefted it up and tried to look menacing. Dan looked torn between amusement, embarrassment and exasperation.

Liam looked at me, then at the branch. "Ok, whatever! Have it your way!" He sighed, rolling his eyes, and turned to go. I chucked the branch at him anyway.

"Ow! Jesus, Anna!" Liam cried, rubbing his head where the branch had hit him.

"Sucker!" I grinned. Liam glared at me then headed off again.

Dan shook his head at me and smiled, passing over my phone. The awkwardness between us seemed to have disappeared, and –thankfully- so had the drop in my confidence.

"So, are you gonna let me in on your, secret project?" Dan asked curiously, catching hold of my hand as we walked back to the main building.

I grinned up at him, "Not a chance!"

Dan shrugged, "I guess I'll just have to bide my time and be patient. Then sneak up on you and shock the answer out of you,"

I rolled my eyes, "Always so dramatic. If it was me, I'd wait until you were asleep, grab you and put you in a headlock and force you to spit out every word!"

Dan laughed loudly, "And that _isn't _dramatic?"

"Nope!"

We headed upstairs and Dan automatically followed me to my room. Or, more of, I forced him to come and help me with the growing pile of neglected homework.

"Wow, your room's a mess," Dan teased as I unlocked my door.

He's right, I admitted to myself grudgingly, looking around at the massive pile of notes scattered around my laptop, all over my bed, the floor and desk. Of course, none of them were about schoolwork.

"So _this_ is what you do when you disappear off to your room for hours at a time!" Dan exclaimed, feigning shock as he inspected a sheet from the desk, "What is it?" He asked flipping it over and reading the back.

I gathered up all the sheets and stacked them in a pile under my bed.

"Oh, nothing much, just a few ideas on stupid things and a few sheets worth of 'unbreakable' computer code. For my new project," I added, taking the sheet from Dan and adding it to the pile.

"Riiiiiiiigggghhhhtttt," Dan muttered suspiciously.

I shrugged, "It's your fault if you don't believe it,"

Dan looked at me seriously, "This isn't anything to do with MI6, or your father, is it, Anna?" He asked me.

I looked away, "Of course not! Why would it be! I promised Meryl I would leave MI6 to do their job and not interfere! Why would you think that any of this was to do with- with any of that! It's just- it's... um..." I fidgeted and looked around the room for inspiration, "It's just some silly, random project. Anyway, I've... I've still got tons of homework due in for tomorrow so..." I mumbled, grabbing my chair and sitting down.

I picked a book up off the floor and flicked to my last piece of work. I scowled into the pages. Just my luck; Maths.

"Anna?" Dan knelt down beside me, so that he was looking up, "Promise me that this is not about your Dad. Leave it to MI6; they can handle it. It's too dangerous for you to go looking for your father. Promise me that you'll leave it to MI6,"

I looked away, guilty, but angry too. My father was missing and they expected me to do nothing! But I remembered Jeremy and Bob (Ok, his name isn't actually Bob, but still) and the whole kidnapping thing, and I knew why they didn't want me anywhere near this case. I had known, even when I'd decided to break my promise to Meryl, that Emma, Arron and Dan wouldn't like it. No one would. Which was why I'd never told them. Why I wasn't planning on ever telling them. And now Dan had read me like a book, and I was going to have to lie to him, and promise him something impossible. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate lying, and breaking promises when it's to do with people I care about? Jeez! I thought to myself, Dan is probably the 2nd most immature person in the world (the 1st being moi) but he sure can by serious sometimes. Even I can... Scary.

I sighed and looked back at Dan, avoiding his eyes, "I promise,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 9<p>

Dan looked closely at Anna, who avoided his gaze. She is definitely up to something, he thought, studying her face for any sign of guilt. There were just too many for comfort. He frowned but decided to drop the subject.

"So... How much homework have you got?" He asked finally.

Anna looked at him scathingly, then at the stack of books on the floor.

"Ah, right," Mumbled Dan, "Um... well, if we start with... History, Geography, Maths, French and English, since they're all due in for tomorrow... then we could... do the rest tomorrow?" He asked, sighing at the vast pile next to him.

Anna sighed too, and set the Maths book down on the desk. Dan crouched next to her and leaned in to read the last section of work. He frowned.

"Um, Anna, we covered this all about three lessons ago," He said pointedly.

"Yeah. I got... distracted," Anna mumbled back, looking guilty. Dan swore he could have seen her eyes flit, just for a second, over to the massive stack of notes.

"Well... this could take longer than expected," Dan groaned, "Grab the textbook; I'll read out the questions and you write down the answers,"

They got their way through all of the uncompleted Maths, French, and History homework, and were just starting English when Elizabeth burst into the room, followed by Liam and Tom.

"Oh, you're doing homework!" Elizabeth muttered, grinning at Dan and Anna. Liam was looking smug, and Tom curious.

Dan glared viciously at Liam.

Anna turned slowly in her seat, arms crossed over her chest, looking severely disapproving, and glaring icily at the three of them, "And what, may I ask, did you think we would be doing?"

"Ah, well, um... nothing..." Elizabeth stuttered, looking at Liam, annoyed. Liam shrugged under her stare, "I still saw them,"

"Saw what?" Anna demanded frostily.

Dan was grateful that he was on the same side as Anna.

"Oh... um... you know! Back in the woods!" Liam fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Oh? Nice to know someone who can keep a secret, isn't it? And, Elizabeth, honestly, what were you expecting exactly, when you burst in here? Dan and I making out on the bed?" Anna asked, eyebrows raised.

Dan blushed, but grinned at the same time, knowing that Elizabeth was probably feeling twice as uncomfortable as he was. Sure enough, everyone watched as Elizabeth grew redder and redder in the face.

Eventually she shrugged, "Oh well, would've made good gossip. The whole scandal of you hacking Meryl's private stuff has pretty much died down now..."

Anna suppressed a grin, "You, Elizabeth, are shameless,"

Elizabeth grinned, gave a jaunty wave and tugged Tom out of the room, "I guess I'm off to find some other gossip,"

Liam turned to follow, sheepishly. Anna stood up and grabbed Liam's arm before he could escape after them. She yanked him round to face her.

"I am not normally one to slap other people," Anna growled, "I usually think up a worse punishment, and then put my heart and soul into bringing that punishment about. Be warned, Liam, I can hack your deepest darkest secrets. I don't appreciate being blabbed on, so don't do it," And she shoved Liam out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Dan gaped at her.

"What?" Anna demanded, sitting down and picking her pen back up. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and turned to face him fiercely.

"Nothing," Dan said hurriedly, "Just glad I haven't crossed you recently,"

Anna rolled her eyes, but Dan saw her lips twitch upwards slightly.

"Do you suppose I'll be able to skive off English and History tomorrow?" Anna asked with a sigh, looking dismally at the two left over books in front of her.

"Uh huh, since that's all you've been doing all week, isn't it? It's a wonder Meryl isn't on to you yet. I'm shocked; she's never been this allowing for any other student I know," Dan replied thoughtfully, gazing out of the window at the darkening sky.

Anna bent down over her work quickly, and started scribbling something, "Guess I'll just have to face the music, won't I? Even if Meryl hasn't noticed my innocent, yet strangely re-occurring habit of missing certain lessons, the teachers certainly will have,"

"Well, at least you'll only get several detentions and maybe a few laps..." He teased her.

"What? Laps? That's the worst punishment you can come up with?" Anna tutted with mock seriousness.

"For this crime it is. I dunno, maybe you should start putting up firewalls on revision sights, and stuff, then you'd really get killed," Dan grinned.

Anna looked thoughtful for a few seconds, "That's actually a good idea... I could... no, I'd need something more distracting... although it still is a good idea..." She muttered to herself, still adding sentences onto her essay.

Dan felt slightly worried, "I was joking! I didn't mean it!" He yelped.

Anna grinned, "'course you didn't. _I'm_ the one who means it,"

Dan tried to look seriously at her, but she turned back to the English essay, "They will absolutely _kill_ you if you do anything like that, Anna," He warned.

Anna nodded vaguely, frowning at her book. Dan leaned over curiously, "And what is your essay about anyway?"

"Some stupid book about something or other. I was supposed to read it, but I didn't. Found a summary of it on the internet." Anna replied, shutting her English book and pulling out her geography one, "I've just gotta write five points on advantages and disadvantages of electric cars and how they are linked to global warming or whatever. Or maybe it was climate change... can't remember,"

Dan rolled his eyes and fetched out her textbook from under the desk, flipping through, he found a page about electric cars and their uses. He plonked it in front of Anna, who grinned her thanks and copied out some of the points. Eventually, she slammed the book shut, stood up and stretched.

"Thanks for helping out," She smiled at him.

Dan climbed to his feet as well, glancing at Anna's alarm clock as he did.

"Crap! It's nearly 12!"

"It is? Ah, shit! I need to get up early tomorrow! I've still got extra laps and swimming in 'preparation' for Basic Training!" Anna scowled at that thought, then grinned to herself, "I suppose I could always skive off them!"

Dan rolled his eyes at her fake tone, "Anyway, I've gotta go. I'll see you at some point tomorrow," He told her, heading for the door.

Anna smiled at him and waved jauntily, shutting the door behind her. Then opening it again as he set of down the corridor.

"If you've nicked off with my phone again, I'm gonna nick one of those golf buggies and run you down,"

Dan grinned to himself and shook his head. Only Anna could think up such a threat.


	3. This Is A Very Long, Boring Title

WARNING: IF YOU READ THIS THEN YOU HAVE TO WRITE A REVIEW AT THE BOTTOM

FISHES KILL

DON'T BE AN IDIOT

DON'T EAT YOUR GREENS- THEY KILL TOO

ok then, enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 10<p>

Lola scowled to herself as Jason and Commander Green set off ahead of her. Obviously they expected her to follow. She glared at the floor as she trudged along behind them, continuously aware of how childish she was acting.

Commander Green stopped on front of a plain, blank door with no handle. She placed her hand in the middle of the door and waited. And continued to wait. She cursed to herself.

"Doors aren't working, _again_," She told Jason, who stepped forward and shoved the door open. Lola didn't offer to help. Jason stood back after a few minutes, giving Lola full view of what once was a high tech door.

Commander Green gestured for Lola to enter the room before them. Jason smiled apologetically as he noticed her still eyeing the broken door.

"The stuff here's so old everything tends to break down. We've been promised some better kit in a few weeks time, but until then, we're stuck with the crappy rejected stuff from the 90's,"

Lola shrugged to herself and walked into the room. A massive map of the world was lit up on the far side of the room, with several pins stuck in it at seemingly random places. Most of those pins circulated Britain three or four were in Britain.

"As you can see, we've been very busy tracking several different people around the world. As well as a missing agent, who you will probably know very well," Commander Green pointed at the pins surrounding Britain.

"Which agent?" Lola asked stonily.

Jason rolled his eyes, "You know which one. That was why you moved here, remember?"

Lola scowled, "Why I moved here is none of your business, Jason!"

Jason shrugged, "If you say so, but I still reckon you knew what happened and moved away to escape. Only, what happened to your kids?"

Lola glowered at Jason, but didn't answer. Commander Green coughed uncomfortably.

"Lola, we have some trace of your children after you left they spent around two weeks in a care home on the outskirts of Manchester, before two disappeared completely, along with some other children, and the other two were... um... kidnapped. We-"

"What?" Lola screeched.

"Calm down Lola. Sheesh!" Jason rolled his eyes.

Lola was silenced by Commander Green.

"We managed to rescue your children, but since then they have disappeared. Or more of, _we_ aren't allowed to know where they've gone, and, apparently there aren't very many people who are,"

"I'm not allowed to know where my own children are?" Lola growled.

Jason shrugged again, off to one side, "What do you want? Daily updates on everything they do? Anyway, if they've disappeared then no one can find them and so they're safe. I'm more worried about Michael, and you should be too!"

Lola turned on him, "One more word about what I can, can't, should or shouldn't do, and I _will_ beat you up,"

Commander Green coughed to attract Lola and Jason's attention, and they both turned to face her.

"Jason, it would be nice if you stopped jibing Lola, and, Lola, please refrain from beating up your colleagues and have some dignity. Right now, the only people we can get a hold of who would be able to recognise or find Michael are you two, and possibly Peter Kenedy, Michael's work partner, but he's a bit busy right now, trying to catch several more crooks and criminals over the other side of the pond, in Manchester,"

Lola scowled some more. By the sounds of it, she would be working alongside Jason. She'd forgotten how annoying he was.

"So then, boss," Jason grinned with fake enthusiasm, "What can we do for you?"

* * *

><p>Chapter 11~Emma<p>

A further 9 hours of travelling and we arrived, feeling somewhat less comfortable than we'd had when we'd set off. We were staying the night in an old, unpopular hotel, which, Raine guessed was probably once a manor house.

"Like in Victorian times. Or Medieval times. I get them mixed up lots," Raine shrugged.

"At least there's no one here. We can still talk about CHERUB and stuff here," Lilly pointed out, looking up at the creepy looking hotel and shuddering.

It was a massive house, with grey brick walls, and old fashioned windows, with shutters on the outside. Ivy covered the whole house, and, in the half-light of the evening, it looked creepy and uninviting.

Large went and checked us all in, then we dragged our stuff upstairs. Well, we hardly had to drag it; it could all fit in our pockets. Raine and I grabbed one of the rooms with a window overlooking the valley.

I fell back onto the bed, which promptly squeaked and groaned. Several more springs started poking me in the back. I rolled over to look at Raine, wincing as several springs caught my side.

"I think I'd prefer to sleep on the floor tonight," I told her.

Raine nodded her agreement, "Although, there could be mice in here," She pointed to one corner of the room and I saw a small hole in the skirting board.

"Um, on second thoughts, I'll sleep on the bed,"

Not having any other reason to stay in our room, we went to find the others. They were all downstairs, in the hotel restaurant, if it could be called that. There were about ten circular tables in the room, with rickety stools and mismatched seats. Some of them were covered in cobwebs. The wallpaper was peeling and the lighting in the room was sucky. A few speakers were dotted around the room, and music was playing quietly from them

All the other trainees were huddled around a table, very near to the instructors, who were talking to each other in hushed voices. We walked over and pulled up the least dusty seats and joined them.

"What exactly are we trying to do?" I asked in a whisper.

"We're trying to hear what they're planning for us!" Hissed Zack.

Everyone fell silent, straining to hear what was being said.

"... the final day?" Miss Smoke mumbled.

"Yes, they will be travelling toward... out of the way...should provide an adequate challenge..." Mr Speaks replied.

"This is ridiculous! I can't hear a word! I'm going to get closer!" Tess got up suddenly.

She turned to Raine, "I need to go to the loo, want to come with me?"

"The _loo_?" Zack squeaked, laughing, "Seriously, you, my little sister, fail,"

"Up yours, Zack," Tess growled as Raine got up.

The two of them proceeded to walk incredibly slowly past the instructor's table, whispering to each other. Raine tripped up suddenly, and Tess leaped down to grab her, and the two of them ran off to the toilet. Mr Large, Miss Smoke and Mr Speaks hadn't even noticed them.

A few minutes later, Tess and Raine came hurrying back, slowing down slightly as they neared the instructor's table again. Raine was holding her phone.

"Where the hell did you get that from?" Lilly gaped in surprise, snatching the phone off Raine, "How were you able to sneak this in?"

Raine shrugged, uncomfortable with all the attention, "I just, you know, hid it,"

"Lucky sod!" Jonah shook his head in admiration.

"Man, could I borrow it? I need to ring, like, everyone!" Zack grinned, reaching for the phone.

Tess snatched it back, "First of all, my darling older brother," She said sarcastically, "Raine has got hardly any credit at all. Second of all, since when have you ever wanted to phone anyone in your life? You're acting like a girl, for crying out loud! What happened to manly and macho?"

Zack shrugged, "So what? If I can text my mate Dominic and tell him to record the new Doctor Who episodes, I'll take being girly forever!"

"Since when did you ever know when the new Doctor Who series started?" Tess demanded.

Zack shrugged, "I wrote it on my hand in permanent marker accidentally sometime ago... It's not something you forget easily,"

"I would've forgotten," Jonah shrugged.

"Anyway, I don't like Doctor Who anymore. Matt Smith's ugly," Lilly objected.  
>"He isn't! He's shit funny too! Unlike David Tennant! All he did was go "I'm sorry," and look grave!" Tess argued.<p>

"I thought Matt Smith was a girl just after he'd regenerated. And what is with the fez?" Lilly growled.

"The fez is awesome!" Tess growled.

"What the hell is a fez?" Zack demanded, looking lost.

"That red hat thing The Doctor was wearing on the last few episodes of series 5," I told him, "You know, the one that River Song blasted with her gun,"

"And that too! I mean, she died, for crying out loud! She died in that library with those Vardina Rashtna things!" Lilly exclaimed.

"Vashta Nerada, actually," I corrected her.

"So! She's _supposed_ to be dead!"

"People, please! We are not here to debate about what those flesh eating monsters are called or about how River what's-her-face should be dead, or even how nice-looking Matt Smith and David Tennant are –although, personally, I agree with Lilly- ok!" Jonah announced.

"You're just saying that 'cos you're her boyfriend," Tess scowled, sitting back down.

Jonah ignored here and turned to Raine, "So, why is you're phone important?"

"Well, when I tripped up, I spotted a small booklet type thing on the floor, so I picked it up. When we got out of this room, I ran upstairs and grabbed my phone and took a few pictures of it, then dropped it back when we went past Large, Smoke and Speaks again," Raine whispered.

Zack scrunched up his nose, "Eh? Why didn't you just bring it back here?"

Tess rolled her eyes, "Because they'd notice it was missing, dipshit,"

"Hey! Respect for your elders!" Zack objected.

"Shut up! Look, the booklet was all in Arabic, and we can't read a word," Tess sighed mournfully.

Jonah grinned, "Pass the phone here, I'll read it for you. I'm warning you though; I can't read Arabic very well at all, so none of this is definite,"

Tess grinned and Raine gave Jonah the phone.

* * *

><p>Chapter 12~Anna<p>

I stared wistfully out of the window at the bright day outside. Several little red shirts were messing around on the field, and a few gray and navy shirts were having a game of football. Meanwhile, I was stuck inside, dying of boredom, waiting for the bell to ring, which would end the torture that some strange, delusional teachers seemed to call Maths.

Dan was sitting next to me, and caught my gaze out of the window he grinned ruefully at me and nudged my elbow, pointing at a guy a few rows in front of us, who seemed to have fallen asleep. I grinned and quietly ripped a blank piece of paper from my notebook. Acting slowly, so as not to draw the teacher's attention, I folded the paper into a mini aeroplane, and aimed it at the pore sod in front of us. It hit him on the shoulder, and he jerked awake, nearly falling out of his chair. Dan and I muffled our sniggers as he looked around guiltily at the rest of the class, then leaned over his desk and started taking notes on the equations of Pi hurriedly.

I looked down at my book, then at the clock, and realised that there were only 10 minutes to go. I quickly began to copy the few notes Dan had made, and scribble down some examples off the board, then wrote the rest of the information off the board into my book as quickly as possible. I may not feel any need to do the work, I thought to myself, but I _will_ get killed if anyone thinks I haven't. I finished with a minute to spare, and subtly began to pack my bag. The bell rang.

I leaped from my seat, stuffed my remaining books back into my bag and all but ran from the classroom, Dan right behind me.

"What've you got next?" I asked him as we slowed down to a walk, taking the longest route to the next class as possible.

"ICT, you?" Dan replied, sighing.

"ICT too, but I'll probably be in another class. Are you really so bad at using computers?" I demanded, snatching his timetable off him and looking to see which room he would be in. He was in the room the bottom group got taught in.

"No, I'm not actually all that bad, since you showed me a few pointers, but, unlike some, I can't blackmail the teachers into letting me move up a couple of groups. I have to wait until Mr Halford says I'm good enough to move up," Dan scowled.

"Well, this is my classroom. I'll see you around, right?" I asked, waving as I joined the end of the queue into the classroom.

"Yeah, see you around!" Dan grinned, heading off.

"Who's he?" A snobby voice behind me asked, "Like, your boyfriend?"

I turned around to see a girl looking at me disdainfully. She was a couple of inches shorter than me, more than a couple skinny -and going slightly anorexic by the look of her- but still blonde although her nose was pinched and pointed, and her beady eyes were a drab grey colour. Almost like cement colour, really.

"Nope, he's my Granddad. Who the fuck do you think he is?" I asked scathingly.

The Girl scowled, "It's rude to swear," She sniffed haughtily.

"So what does that tell you?" I pointed out patronisingly.

"Well, that you're a horrible person who thinks that name calling and violence is the way to solve everything. It also shows that you aren't very clever, since, if you wanted to offend me you could have figured out a more effective way. I bet you're just too stupid to realise that you're standing in the queue for the top group in ICT, or else, maybe you're not supposed to be here but are trying to sneak into our lesson anyway," The Girl taunted. Several people looked back at us.

"Hmmmm, the name calling and violence is actually probably about right, you know! And, in truth, I did actually force my way into getting into the top group. No violence though, which is a start!" I said cheerfully.

The Girl snorted daintily, "You see! You're not supposed to be in this class!"

A shadow fell over the two of us and we both turned to look.

"Actually, out of all of us, Anna's probably the best and definitely the cleverest computer person I've ever known, either way, she is supposed to be in this class. Maybe you should try teaching it, Anna!" Elizabeth grinned.

I grinned back as I spotted Tom standing behind her, "Hi you two! What's up?"

The Girl cut across Elizabeth and Tom before they could reply, "How? How can you prove that she isn't just a stupid thicko!"

"Oooooh, harsh!" I grinned.

"I heard about Andrew and yesterday, by the way," Elizabeth told me, ignoring The Girl, "He's still dying of embarrassment in his room. He's saying something about not coming out until they make a serious change to pupil's security around their personal files,"

I cracked up laughing as Elizabeth turned on The Girl, "Our good friend Anna, a couple of months ago, hacked into Meryl's personal information. From, or at least as I've heard, just using a chat conversation. Of course, this was back before she knew about CHERUB, and all that. Since then she's attempting to resist our many bribes to hack into Meryl's personal info and change some things..."

"Bribes? Who said anything about bribes!" I grinned.

Elizabeth shrugged, "Well, Tom suggested it,"

"What will you give me if I hack Meryl's account?" I demanded, looking at Tom.

"Hopefully nothing. I don't believe a word of this hacking nonsense, and she's probably just trying to rip you off!" The Girl sniffed again.

"You all right?" I asked with fake concern.

"Aye, it sounds like you've got a cold!" Tom added.

"I have not! Thank you very much!" The Girl exclaimed in an offended tone, "And I don't believe for a minute that you can hack anything!" She took on a more scornful voice, "Hacking into Meryl's personal information, as if!"

"I hope no one has been near my personal information, otherwise I would have to give them a severe punishment," Came a voice from behind us. We all swung round to see that Meryl was standing stonily in front of us. Or behind us. Or... whatever.

"Hi!" I grinned semi-nervously. I wondered what reason Meryl might have for being here. Then I thought what I might have done. There was that teacher I shoved past yesterday... Or maybe she found out that it was me who had locked shut the guy's changing room... Or it could've been that ICT lesson... Or maybe she'd discovered that I'd broken my promise to her and was currently spending nearly all my spare time looking for a way to find my dad...

I saw Elizabeth turn around quickly and start talking to Tom, pretending not to notice Meryl. Traitors, I thought to myself. The Girl was looking uncomfortable.

"Hello Anna, Sandi," Meryl nodded to us both. Sandi? I thought incredulously at The Girl. She seemed so much more like a Bitchy than a Sandi type person.

"Um... just so you know, those two started it. I wasn't saying or suggesting anything about hacking!" I told Meryl hurriedly, pointing at Tom and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth sighed dramatically and glared at me. I blew a kiss at her. She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Well, as long as you aren't planning anything..." Meryl left off threateningly.

"Nope, nothing!" I replied quickly.

"Good, then you can get to your lesson now," Meryl said, gesturing to the dwindling queue of people outside the ICT room.

"Right," I said shiftily, and Elizabeth, Tom and I walked in together, Sandi walking pointedly behind us to prove that she wasn't with us.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13~Anna<p>

The best seats – the ones at the back- had already been nicked, so we had to be satisfied with seats in the second row. The teacher marched into the room and greeted the class. A mumbled, half-hearted answer came from the majority of the class. The teacher had frizzy black hair with red and blue highlights and even a purple one. She wore massive circular glasses and looked positively insane. She gestured for us to log in and get started. I turned to face Elizabeth.

"So, any interesting stuff happening?" I asked her, out of sheer boredom.

"Oh, not much, some guy broke up with some other girl and someone else got kicked out of CHERUB. Something about Class A drugs. Or maybe that was the girl who was having a relationship with a guy from a mission... not much else, really,"

"Uh huh, 'cos that happens every other day, right?" I rolled my eyes.

"No, not really. Every other week maybe," Elizabeth replied, as we turned to watch the teacher write something on the board.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiight," I mumbled, bringing up Google and checking my emails. None, of course; I had no one to email that I couldn't see every day. Apart from Arron.

"So, what _were_ you and Dan doing in your room last night?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

I shrugged, typing an email to Arron, "Homework,"

Heyyyyy wats up? Skwl v. Boring, right now. Not learning nething nu, bwt then, i'm not paying ne attention :D email me l8r 2 let me no u still exist and all, 'cos, u no, u might have been kidnapped by mass murderers or sumthing (the horror!). Or, of course, you might have gone out and got a life, but I'd be v. Surprised if u had...

Anna ;p

I hit send and turned back to Elizabeth, who was staring at me incredulously.

"Homework? _You_ were doing _homework_!" Elizabeth hissed incredulously.

"As weird as Anna is, Elizabeth, she _does_ have to do homework like everybody else," Tom pointed out.

"Not that I like it better than anyone else. In fact, homework is possibly the worst form of punishment I could ever get!" I replied quietly as the room filled with the eerie sound of clicking keyboards.

I glanced up at the board to check what we needed to do. Great. A two-week project on writting instructiond on how to use Microsoft Excel. Genius.

"You know, I almost preferred being in the bottom group. At least then I could not pay attention and no one would care," I muttered.

"Why would they care?" Elizabeth responded.

"Dude, they would all be talking themselves," I mumbled, pulling up Microsoft Word and starting to type, "Hmm, I wonder if I should bother even starting, or whether I should just go straight onto the internet and find some website where someone has posted this shit already..."

Tom looked over at me, "You do realise that an ICT teacher will probably know all of these sites already, and will be expecting at least one person to copy all of this?"

I shrugged, "I'll just say I was using my fantabulous ICT skills to find what she wanted, and that if she wanted to know how good my writing skills were, she should check my English book,"

"Well, that would be a very good excuse, Anna, but a bit too cheeky for my liking. You're new to my class then?" A voice came from behind me.

"Damn, what is it with teachers and staff overhearing me whenever I try to talk with someone?" I muttered, and Elizabeth had to disguise her laughs by coughing loudly.

I turned towards the teacher, "Yup, I'm new miss," I told her.

"I'm Mrs Klintom. I take it you're the famous Anna Simons that just about everyone seems to know about for one reason or another," Mrs Kilntom went on. She didn't seem to be telling me off, but it was a bit freaky having a conversation with a teacher.

I blinked, "Um... famous?"

"More like notorious," Mrs Klintom corrected, "According to Tom and Elizabeth, you're a very good hacker. The story about you and Meryl seems to have travelled very far very fast,"

"Oh, yeah..." I mumbled. Sheesh! How many people exactly new about my immense powers of hacking? It was actually quite unnerving. I shot Elizabeth a curious but why-the-fuck-did-you-tell-everyone kind of look, and added, "I guess some people can't keep secrets very well," In a very accusatory tone.

Tom looked slightly embarrassed, but Elizabeth shrugged with indifference, "It was good gossip. Plus, you know, absolutely hilarious,"

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Well, Anna. Since you don't want to display your writing skills to the class, I'll give you a challenge. I'm going to block all websites with essays on this project, and I want you to try and get around this and hand in three different essays from three different sites. That, I hope will test your ICT skills more than writing the essay yourself, I suppose," Mrs Klintom continued.

"Really? I'm actually allowed to hack something? Wow, I haven't hacked anything since... well, actually, it was only yesterday, but that's not the point!" I grinned, "Three different sites?"

"Yes. I'd like to see how good you are, Anna, because if the rumours have any truth in them, you must be pretty amazing,"

I heard a disdainful sniff, and a hissed, "Of course, most rumours are completely untrue," From the area near Sandi, but ignored her.

"When should I start?" I asked cracking my knuckles and glancing towards my computer screen eagerly.

"Well, I haven't put up any firewalls or anything Anna, so you're just going to have to wait a bit. You can use this lesson for whatever you want. Just this once, of course. Maybe you could reply to the email your brother just sent you," Mrs Klintom added.

I jumped and whirled around to see a pop up on my screen announcing;

You Have New Mail!

And underneath was the details of who sent my 'new mail';

My Most Utterly Spiffing Brothe...

What the hell was the point of cutting out the r on the end of Brother? I thought to myself, clicking on the notice.

Well, that sucks for you. And, I do have a life, Anna. I spend it being a geek. My superior nerdiness just annoys you. And no, I haven't been kidnapped by mass murderers, or space aliens, before you suggest that. I can't write anymore right now; my lunch break's nearly over. I'll email you tonight.

Arron

I replied immediately.

What about evil clowns? Or those wierdos off Star Treck?

* * *

><p>Ok, people, you've got to review now. Don't worry, the button will not bite! (well, maybe, if it really doesn't like you...) just click the button and write a comment, it doesn't even have to make sense, thats how great it is! You could simply type in; I Like Cheese! and you will have done your good deed of the day! :D<p> 


	4. To Be Continued IMMEDIATELY!

so, here I am, producing even more amazing chapters, and the review button is still untouched :'(

it's a very sad and lonely review button, and it dearly misses being clicked on.

But don't worry, I'm sure _someone_ will review soon *hinthinthint!* :D

Oh, and by the way, a message for my friends;

Just because you don't have a fanfiction account, doesn't mean you can't review! :D

I know, I'm a persistant bugger! Anyway, back to the story!

(oh, and your greens are still deadly poisonous- I had some last night *shudder*)

* * *

><p>Chapter 14~Emma<p>

Jonah flipped through the pictures, chewing his bottom lip and concentrating hard for several minutes, before looking back up at us.

"Well, this is only tomorrow's instructions, but, by the look of it, we've got to hike up several mountains and arrive by this loch by nightfall. It says something about equipment and boats for the next day, and something else about finding stuff in hidden places that will help with the final challenge, but not much else. It refers to a map, but you haven't got a picture of it, so I can't really say anything else," He told us.

"Well, at least we know something," Lilly shrugged and we all agreed, slightly disappointed.

Jonah handed back Raine's phone and she carefully deleted the evidence, before tucking her phone into the waistband of her trousers and pulling her top down over it.

Large got up suddenly and looked over at us, "You can order room service from your rooms if you want, but I expect you to be in bed by 11 at the latest." He told us, before getting up and going.

I automatically checked my watch, but stopped myself, remembering that it had broken when I was doing the assault course ages ago. I sighed and gave a mental note to get a new one.

Lilly glanced at her own watch, "It's half 9 now," She told us.

"Well, I vote we go upstairs and get room service. This room looks kinda dusty and deserted, and creepy." Zack decided. We all nodded, and got up.

We ended up in Zack and Tess' room, after ordering room service. For the most part, we just sat around doing nothing, talking occasionally. No one felt like talking much at all; we were facing our last three days of Basic Training and we were all getting nervous. I guessed we were all grateful when Lilly pointed out it was 5 to 11 and that we should get back to our own rooms.

Raine and I changed and got into bed in silence.

"Only three days left. That's good, right?" Raine sighed after a few minutes.

"Yeah, excellent. Only, these are supposedly the worse three days in the whole of Basic Training... Sorry that wasn't very reassuring," I mumbled.

"Nope, it really wasn't," Raine agreed.

"'Night," I said.

"'Night," Raine replied.

I was woken – very rudely- the next morning by someone hitting our door. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes, and stumbling out of bed.

"Get ready you lazy morons! We're leaving in 10 minutes!" Large shouted from the hallway.

I hit Raine on the leg as I stumbled past her, "Wake up, we're going," I mumbled, accidentally walking into the shut bathroom door.

Raine climbed out of bed and fell on the floor. "Give us a minute," She moaned.

I splashed my face with cold water to wake myself up, and then headed back to rescue Raine from the mice on the floor. I looked around and spotted two identical sets of clothing lying on the seat next to the bathroom. I picked them up and flung a camouflage, long-sleeved t-shirt and trousers at Raine. We got dressed in silence again, to groggy and not-awake to make decent, worthwhile conversation. Raine tucked her phone into the waistband of her new trousers.

Out in the hallway, Zack and Tess were trying to walk downstairs in a straight line. Unfortunately, neither of them were morning people, and they weren't halfway awake yet. Raine and I grabbed hold of them before they walked into each other again and we set off downstairs. Lilly and Jonah were waiting next to the instructors when we got there.

"There's no breakfast for you little kiddies! I thought we'd get a jump start on the day!" Large grinned.

Lilly silently showed us her watch. 4 am.

"Jump start on the day?" Zack yawned incredulously, "More like jump start on the middle-of-the-night-or-possibly-very-early-the-next-day,"

Large scowled and shoved us all outside and back onto the minibus. I sat back in my seat and looked out of the window, too excited and nervous to get back to sleep. Unlike Zack, who was snoring on Tess' shoulder. Tess looked disgusted.

Outside, it was still dark, and I couldn't see anything, more than a metre away, but I kept my eyes out for any sign of where we were. Somewhere in Scotland, I deduced, from what Miss Smoke had said yesterday.

After around half an hour, Large pulled in somewhere, and looked back at us.

"One and Eight!" He yelled.

Tess punched her brother awake and stood up. Zack, after a moment of hesitation, and a nudge from Lilly, stood up too.

Mr Speaks pointed to the front of the minibus, at the six backpacks that were piled together, "Take one each and get out. We'll see you soon," He told them.

Miss Smoke held out two electronic band type things, "Put these on and press the button if you have an emergency," She said.

Zack and Tess grinned nervously at the rest of us, who gave them thumbs up, grabbed the backpacks and electronic bracelet things, and got out. They slammed the door shut, and Large pulled away immediately.

Raine and I moved into Tess and Zack's space, so we were sitting just in front of the other two.

"Good luck, you guys!" I grinned back at them.

"Yeah, don't drop out now!" Raine smiled.

"Same to you!" Jonah looked like he was restraining himself from holding out his hand.

"See you back on day 100. Maybe sooner!" Lilly beamed.

A minute later, the bus lurched to a stop. Large didn't bother looking around this time, "Three and Four!"

Raine and I waved to the others and got up, grabbing a backpack each, and taking our wrist-bands from Miss Smoke. Raine opened the minibus door and we hopped out, shutting it behind us. Large shot off immediately, but we caught a glance of Lilly and Jonah waving, and waved back.

I turned around and looked at where we were. Raine pointed to a sign on the road ahead, which we could barely see in the morning light. We walked forward and read it.

Pennine Way -

I turned to Raine, "Please don't say we have to walk the Pennine Way in three days!"

Raine had sat down on a rock by the roadside, and was searching through her backpack.

"Well, we could always hitchhike, if worst comes to worst," She mumbled. She let out a cry of triumph, and pulled out a few pages of Russian.

"Let's see what we have to do," She said decisively.

* * *

><p>Chapter 15~Anna<p>

"So, what're you doing tonight?" Dan asked me as he bit into an apple.

We were sitting outside on the grass, at the edge of the woods, with our dinners, and Gabby and Flo had deserted us to go play with their friends. I lay back on the grass, shading my eyes.

"Dunno. Homework, probably," I sighed.

"Haven't you already done yours?" Dan sounded surprised.

"Yeah, well, I caught up with everything but today's homework. Remind me never to leave stuff this late again. It's almost the Easter holidays!" I groaned, impatient for school to be temporarily over.

"And it's nearly your birthday," Dan pointed out.

"Yup! Maybe my sisters will club together to be able to afford a 50p chocolate bar," I grinned, glancing over at Dan.

Dan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, that'd be great, considering you can get them from you can get them from your mini fridge whenever you want anyway,"

"Shut up! It's the thought that counts! Well, that's what Gabby told me at Christmas, anyway," I replied. Dan sniggered. I glared at him for a second, then; "Gimme an apple, I'm hungry!"

Dan swallowed his mouthful of apple with difficulty, as he was still laughing, "Haven't got another, sorry,"

"Yes you have!" I exclaimed, sitting up, "I saw you grab two, and you've only eaten one!"

Dan raised an eyebrow at me, "Whatever you say," He mumbled, taking a massive bite from his apple. He chewed for a few more seconds, inspecting the core of the apple, then threw it behind him.

"You're right!" He exclaimed suddenly, holding up a second apple with mock surprise, "I _do _have another apple!"  
>"Dan! Give it here!" I growled.<p>

Dan shook it tauntingly in the air, flopping back onto the ground, "Nah, it's my apple, I nicked it,"

"You didn't nick it! You picked it up from the dining room, nitwit!" I scowled, leaning over to try and grab the apple. Dan moved his arm further away.

I glowered at the apple for another second, then shrugged, "Oh well, it's only an apple," I sighed dramatically, lying back down on the ground.

Dan sat up curiously; I'd never just given up on something before. Usually I won the argument, or lost, very badly.

"Um... ok," Dan stared at me. I inspected my nails, waiting.

"If you want the apple, you can have it," Dan mumbled after a few minutes, looking uncomfortable.

I sat up, "But I don't. You win, you can eat the apple," I told him, being careful not to smile.

"No, really, if you want it, you can have it," Dan said hurriedly.

"No, no, it's your apple," I grinned into the grass.

"I really don't want it, you can have it,"

I propped myself up with my elbows and sighed, "Well, if you_ insist_," I mumbled, taking the apple grudgingly. Then I grinned, "Sucker!"

"Hey! Oh, come on!" Dan groaned, "You totally manipulated me into giving you that!"

"It's not manipulating, it's reverse physiology!" I defended myself, "But, yeah, you did totally fall for it," I admitted, not able to help myself.

I took a bite out of the apple, taking as long as possible to chew it, just to rub it in.

"Ok, that's it!" Dan growled, snatching at the apple.

I grinned and shuffled sideways, away from Dan, "Nuh uh, this is mine!"

Dan reached for it again, and I rolled over this time, still away from him.

"Aww, come on, Anna!" Dan complained.

"I've eaten some of it, so why do you want it back anyway?" I laughed, dodging another attempt. Dan looked at me seriously for a second, then rolled towards me.

"You're gonna have to drop the apple to roll away, or get it covered in grass!" He grinned.

"Never!" I play-shouted, taking another bite and rolling further away. I swallowed and stopped, observing the apple, "You know, I think you're right! This _has_ got grass on-!"

Dan shoved into me, laughing at my surprised face. I grinned evilly, and contemplated the apple whilst avoiding Dan. "I don't really want to eat it now it's got grass on it," I sighed pettily. Then I threw the apple away.

Dan sat up, "Well... That sucks," He muttered, watching the apple soar into the air and off in the direction of the main building. We both winced as it hit a teacher on the head. I turned to find Dan's feet in my face.

"Lush, Dan, lush. Your feet reek," I complained, sitting up and nearly whacking my head off Dan; I hadn't realised how close he was. Which was stupid, seem as though his feet _had_ just been in my face. Dan grinned and moved his feet away, sliding around so that we were sitting next to each other again. He slung his arm around my shoulders and I smiled, leaning on his shoulder and staring out across the grass to the main building. The moment seemed to last forever. A lot of moments with Dan did, though, but I suppose that's just because I enjoy myself around Dan; he's funny.

Is it just that, though? A small voice inside my head asked. Woah! Talking to myself; not a good sign! I thought, but still the small and random voice in the back of my head had a point. I thought back to yesterday, in the woods. I remembered the feeling of Dan's lips on mine, and the desire to be with him. The newfound scary desire.

"Woah, someone's having a deep moment. Let me know if you get any decent epiphanies!" Dan smiled at me, looking down.

I smiled back up at him, and our faces were so close together I could feel his breath on my skin. My heart seemed to accelerate suddenly, and I wanted to lean in and kiss him, but I couldn't; I was glued to the spot. My confidence had dropped away again, leaving me scarily... unconfident. What if Dan doesn't actually like me, as in _like_ me? What if I just over reacted in the woods or something? I panicked to myself, realising how much I hoped that I hadn't overreacted and how much I really hoped Dan liked me. Dan was still smiling down at me and our faces were still only inches apart. Just kiss him you moronic idiot! I screamed at myself. Sucking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and kissed him.

Dan went rigid with shock for a second, and I panicked again that I _had_ overreacted, but then Dan slipped his arms around me and pulled me even closer, kissing me fiercely. I leaned into him, my arms slipping around his neck, my lips pressing against his. Dan leaned backwards, pulling me with him, and we were lying sideways on the ground, suddenly, our breaths coming in short pants. I drew back, breathing deeply, and resting my forehead against Dan's chest, my heart beating wildly, bursting with happiness. Dan hugged me close, and we lay together for some minutes, just breathing. I could hear Dan's ragged heartbeats through his shirt, and knew he felt just as exhilarated.

Dan was stroking my hair, fiddling with the strands, and following the trails of it down my cheeks, leaving tingling trails of skin behind. I buried my face into his chest, breathing in his scent. He smelled deliciously of mint and orange and... not very strangely, of grass. Eventually, Dan sat up, pulling me with him. He glanced down at me.

"You _do_ still have homework to do," Dan reminded me, gently pulling away. He stood up, and helped me up too.

"Homework sucks!" I sighed, leaning into him as we walked back. Dan grinned, grabbing my hand and swinging it between us.

"Isn't that why the teacher's give us it?"

"I dunno! Maybe they think that all kids are evil and punish us with their dreadful torture. Although, they shouldn't be so judgemental; not every kid is as good as me!"

* * *

><p>Chapter 16<p>

"I don't actually believe it!" Franco declared, staring around at the other men, "Most of us have been in that prison at least once before. We know how to break in and out of it better than almost anyone! Why would they be stupid enough to put him there?"

Franco was the oldest of the three men there, but not the obvious leader, he was tall and muscular, had long grey and black hair which was pulled back into a ponytail of sorts, and was blind. Franco also had several tattoos trailing down his arm, which added to his air of undeniable menace.

"Don't ask me!" Francis shrugged, "Maybe they just think we won't try to break him out,"

Francis didn't look particularly leader-like, either; he was average height, with short, dark brown hair and wore glasses. Unlike Franco, he had no tattoos, and his overall appearance seemed to be an everyday type of person, if a bit nervous. Francis was only 25, but Franco was 42.

"Or maybe, you idiots, they _want_ us to break him out!" Fred growled.

Fred was the actual boss in the group. He had a large bald head, and had to lean over slightly, because he was taller than most people, and so his head kept hitting off the ceiling.

"Well, they_ could_ just think we're stupid," Francis objected.

"Yeah, Francis has a good point there, we do seem to send out a stupid vibe," Franco agreed.

"Well, clearly, Francis doesn't, since he got a job at MI6 and they're tossing information at him right, left and centre!" Fred shook his head in admiration, "I still can't believe you actually succeeded with that."

Francis shrugged again, modestly, "Maybe they already know I'm on your side, an just want to make sure I pass everything onto you, and lead us all into a trap,"

"I doubt it," Franco said, shaking his head, "Some of the information you've found out is just too valuable,"

Fred nodded, "Some of it will certainly be useful at some future point in our careers,"

Two other men walked into the small room, nodding in respect at Francis, and grinning at Fred and Franco. Both men were going slightly grey-haired with age, although both of them were only 40. The similarities stopped there, however, as one was only around 4ft, and the other was almost as tall as Fred.

"I bet you two were listening at the door," Fred scowled, glaring at them.

"We are deeply sorry, oh bossy one, we couldn't resist," The shorter one, Sam, muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah, sorry and all that, but anyway, which prison is it?" Simon (the taller one) asked.

Jeremy waltzed in before Fred could answer, and all five men scowled to themselves; Jeremy was the most spoilt, cocky brat ever, and everyone was sick of him.

"So, have we finally got somewhere?" Jeremy asked patronizingly.

"Our first double agent got some new information today, we're going to go check it out," Fred told Jeremy through his teeth.

"Oh, good, nice to know _some_ people can get stuff done around here," Jeremy replied.

"Well then, I think the double agent should head back to MI6 now, we don't want you staying longer than you have to. See if you can find out a bit more information about anything else. Simon and I will go out tomorrow, try and find some of our old contacts to help us out," Fred ordered, being careful not to let slip to Simon or Sam who exactly was the double agent.

"Who made you boss?" Jeremy objected self-righteously.

"Well, I'm your Dad's right hand man, so we thought it better than having a twelve year old leading us," Fred answered pointedly.

"I'm fourteen, you idiot!" Jeremy declared, outraged, but no one was listening.

As soon as we've broken his Dad out, I'm going. And I hope never to see that brat's stupid face ever again, Fred thought, and he was pretty sure that the others were thinking along the same lines.

* * *

><p>Chapter 17~Emma<p>

"Can you understand any of this?" I sighed, frustrated.

Raine glanced up from her Russian, "Nope, not much. I don't think we have to walk Pennine Way, though,"

I nodded, "It looks like we just have to get to this hut thing on top of a mountain or something, which is about 52 miles away,"

Raine nodded, "We head that way," She said, pointing to the footpath behind us, "But I think we should chuck some of this stuff, 'cos I'm gonna collapse if I have to drag it all up a mountain,"

"Ok then," I mumbled, shuffling around on the floor uncomfortably, while I looked through my backpack, "Why is there a piece of broken hockey stick in here?" I asked incredulously.

Raine shrugged, "Dunno, just chuck it,"

I tossed it to one side.

In the end, we threw out the spare batteries for our torches, as we didn't need them, and they were big bulky ones, some spare sandals, an odd pair of walking boots, the spare tent pegs, the random sewing kit, and most of the bible. The bible, we guessed was for loo roll, or making a fire, but it was big and bulky and awkward, so we compromised by ripping out about three hundred pages and chucking the rest of the eight hundred page bible away. Raine also had a random cake tin in the bottom of her bag, but it didn't have anything in, so we left that too.

Overall, by the time we set off, it was about 7 o'clock. The two of us trudged silently up the path towards the mountains, not wanting to waste any energy. It was a tedious walk, that seemed to take forever, and the path in front of us seemed to keep growing longer and longer. I only realise that we were climbing uphill when Raine spotted a bench ahead and sat down. It was at such an awkward angle that we were wasting more energy trying to sit on it and stay on, than we would standing up. I glanced around, and saw that we must've walked around 15 miles already, and helped myself to a drink of water from my bottle. I turned to Raine, who was looking hot, sweaty and bothered, as well as tired and grumpy.

"Do you know what time it is?" I asked her.

Raine shook her head, "No clue, but, I propose, since it isn't that far to the top, that we climb the rest of the way up and eat there, rather than wasting our time sitting here,"

I guessed she might've heard my tummy rumbling in the background. We stood up, groaning, and set off again.

It took a further hour to reach the top, and both of us were exhausted temporarily. Raine flopped onto the grass, which was dry in from the scorching sun, and pulled out the small pack of food we had.

We ate, once again, in relative silence, looking over our briefings again, and checking our compasses. Well, me checking my compass, since Raine's one was broken. After about half an hour, we decided, grudgingly, to move on.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," Raine moaned in an almost chant-like way.

Both of us had sore shoulders from our packs, and my legs were on fire. We must've walked about 40 miles already, but it was almost dark, around six o'clock, Raine had decided, in her brief reprise of moaning.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up," I chanted back.

"Ow, go away, ow, go away, ow, go away," Raine replied.

We hadn't met many people while we were walking, but when we had, we'd got some strange looks. I suppose it's a bit weird that two teenagers with massive, heavy backpacks are walking on top of a mountain by themselves, seemingly voluntarily. If only they knew, I sighed, the truth would blow their minds.

"Can we stop with the chanting," I asked, unable to think up anything.

"Fine, fine, fine, fine," Raine chanted. I prodded her weekly in the shoulder.

"Just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking, what do we do we walk, walk. Ho ho ho ho ho I love to walk-"  
>"Shut up!" I groaned, "I might drop out just so I don't have to hear you singing!"<p>

Raine stopped, "There's a thought; how do you drop out here?"

"Well, here's another thought; how do we find a random place in the middle of the top of a mountain in the dark?" I asked sarcastically, "'cos that's what we'll be looking for if you don't shift your bum,"

"Sheesh, grumpy guts," Raine rolled her eyes, but started walking again.

"I hate walking," I mumbled.

"Who doesn't? After basic training, I'm gonna spend my days going round in a wheel chair so I never have to walk," Raine replied.

I yawned loudly, "If I don't collapse from overexertion, I might just fall asleep as I walk," I spoke through yawns.

Raine yawned back at me, "Stop yawning, you're making me yawn!" She demanded.

"_I'm_ making _you_ yawn?"

"Yes! You started it!"

"Meh,"

After another hour, the sun started to go down, and we were still about five miles from the meeting point. Raine and I stopped and sat down for a quick discussion and long rest.

"I reckon we should jog lightly for ten minutes, stop for five, walk for five, jog for ten, stop for five, walk for five, until we get there," Raine interrupted me, after several minutes of disagreement.

I shrugged, "What harm can it do? We'll say this is our five minute break, so after this, we walk for five minutes, then jog for ten, then start again,"

Raine nodded and, using me as something to rest on, she pulled herself up. We set off again.

After thirty minutes, we arrived, finally. It was still light, but barely, and we could only just spot Jonah and Lilly sitting out, watching anxiously. They waved over to us, and helped us to a small, sheltered area behind a set of large boulders. It was big enough for four tents to be set up –one per two trainees, and one, I guessed, that the instructors had set up, which probably had our mission briefings in, and further possible equipment. It was not immediately obvious, either, so we wouldn't get too many curious passer by's.

Raine and I pitched our tent with Lilly's help, and she told us about what had happened on their journey. Jonah was nursing a sprained wrist, from falling onto a rock, but they were otherwise fine. Tess and Zack hadn't yet arrived, but Jonah and Lilly had been taking turns between translating their briefings and keeping an eye out for us.

Once the tent was up, Lilly swapped places with Jonah, who came to sit with us. Raine and I were poring over our briefings by torchlight. I rubbed my eyes, dog tired, and glanced up at Jonah.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

Jonah glanced at Lilly's watch, which he'd nicked off her, "About 9 o'clock," He told us.

My stomach rumbled loudly. Jonah laughed.

"There's some food in the other tent, but not a lot, so I would just go hungry for tonight, and save it all for tomorrow," He smiled sympathetically.

Jonah helped us figure out the main points of tomorrow; the distance, direction and deadline. Or the three 'Dreaded D's' as Raine put it. Although, Jonah pointed out, it was technically four, because of the 'dreaded' bit. After 15 minutes, we heard Lilly shout, and a bedraggled Tess and Zack collapsed into camp. Tess was looking mutinous.

"15 miles in the wrong direction!" She spat half heartedly at her brother, "All the time insisting that you could read a fucking map!"

Raine, Lilly and I helped them set up their tent while Jonah went over the information we'd got for tomorrow. Overall, it was about 10 by the time we were all asleep. I was so tired that it didn't matter that it was freezing, or that I could feel every single rock underneath me; I fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

><p>so then, the review button is waiting. I lied, in my last post of chapters, I told you the button would not bite. Well, it does, but don't worry, it's just biding its time, it'll wait until the moment you least expect it, and then EAT YOUR COMPUTER! Ok, that isn't strictly true... but it would make a good story... the computer eating review button of ... nah, too long :D<p> 


	5. A Traitor In Our Midst

Thank you, you nice people who reviewed! To the rest of you; i've given up, ok, you win :'(

no, I jokes, I just can't be bothered to warn you against the dangers of an unused review button :D

* * *

><p>Chapter 18<p>

Dan and Andrew were in the same class for French. Unfortunately.

"Wow, I never realised how much I hate French," Dan mumbled, staring down at the list of present and past tense verbs.

"French is great," Andrew argued, writing some notes down in his book, "It's always good to know that you can understand what people are actually saying when you visit another country,"

"Geek. I prefer to just swear at them and run off. Then never visit that part of the country again," Dan sighed.

He wondered why, not for the first time, either, he and Andrew had chosen to sit together. Maybe it was just because Dan didn't know many of the others in his class, since they were all several years younger than him, or maybe it was because he wanted to take the piss out of Andrew again. He now regretted his choice.

"Uh huh, what if you were sent on a mission there?" Andrew asked sceptically.

"I wouldn't be, someone else who could actually speak the language would be chosen, not me. And it wouldn't be you, either," Dan added.

It was true; Andrew might be a language enthusiast, but he was worse at speaking French than Dan.

"I hope you two are practising your punctuation, not wasting time with idle chit-chat!" Mr Prent spoke from the front.

Dan and Andrew mumbled apologies and went back to their lists. God, I'm being told off for talking to the world's biggest geek ever! Dan groaned to himself. He wished he was in Anna's French class, but, despite her lazy attitude and reputation for skiving, Anna seemed to have a talent for languages; she was in top French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, which was totally unfair since she'd only started them about three months ago.

Andrew was mumbling words under his breath, concentrating very hard. Dan sighed and put his sheet down; he'd have to ask Anna for help again tonight. There was a chance that she wouldn't; she didn't even do her own homework.

The class dragged on for a further 10 minutes, which Dan spent with his head in his hands, faking a headache, and Andrew spent being a nerd and pronouncing everything wrong.

The bell rang- finally- and Dan was first out of the classroom and out into the corridor. He walked to the dining hall as quickly as he could, hoping desperately that Andrew wouldn't try to catch up with him. Liam met him on the way there.

Dan glared at him for a few seconds then shrugged offhandedly; he couldn't stay mad at Liam forever.

"Hey man, what's up?" Liam grinned.

"Nothing. Just sat through French next to Andrew," He groaned.

Liam tried to look sympathetic, "Poor you. Why did you sit next to him in the first place?"

Dan sighed, "Dunno, ever since well... you know, I've been seeing him around a lot more. I shudder at the thought that some people might think we're friends!"

Liam shook his head, "Missions." He said knowingly, "You get put with a freak; you get stuck with the freak,"

They walk through a set of double doors and went outside.

Dan grinned, "I guess he's not all that bad; just immensely annoying, geeky, and severely lacking in the French pronunciation department,"

"Unlike you, I suppose. You're just severely lacking altogether," A teasing voice came from behind.

Dan and Liam jumped.

"Jesus, don't do that! You gave us a heart attack!" Dan yelped at Anna.

Anna was leaning up against the wall, arms crossed, in the shadow of the doorway. Her eyes were sparkling mischievously, and she looked torn between amusement and... something else. Dan couldn't tell what.

"And you call yourself spies?" Anna said mockingly, "I could have been walking behind you playing a guitar and singing -very badly, I might add- and you two still wouldn't have noticed me,"

Anna pushed herself off the wall and walked over to Dan, grinning. Dan smiled back automatically, as he always did.

"I believe you may just have insulted us. Twice," Liam said crisply, aware that he was now being ignored.

"Yup, well done, thicko boy. Oh, that was another insult, by the way," Anna added, rolling her eyes.

"That is an insult to my intelligence!" Cried Liam.

"It's an insult to your face," Anna muttered dryly.

Liam raised an eyebrow, "Fine, you're an insult to your Mum,"

Anna looked at him for a few seconds, then shrugged, "That I can live with,"

"Great, let's go get something to eat; I'm starving," Dan muttered.

Anna shook her head,, "Sorry, I can't: extra swimming, then some laps," She shrugged apologetically.

Dan nodded, slightly disappointed, "See you later, then?" He asked.

Liam rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes, of _course _you'll see her later. You always do!"

Anna shrugged, "See you. And Liam, just 'cos you haven't got a social life that involves a girl, doesn't mean you have to be jealous of anyone who does,"

She turned round and headed off before anyone could say anything. Liam spluttered indignantly for a few seconds, then gave up.

"Always has to have the last word, doesn't she?" He growled under his breath. Then he grinned at Dan, "Social life that involves a girl?" He asked.

Dan shrugged, "So I hang out with her, doesn't mean anything, does it?"

Liam smirked, "Depends whether you want it to, or not,"

Dan gave him a withering look.

"Mate, just ask her out," Liam sighed, "Before I die from all this love-sick tension,"

"What love-sick tension? There isn't any!"

"Like I said before, depends wh-"  
>"Yes, yes! I know what you said before. And it's rich coming from you, since you haven't had a single girlfriend!"<p>

"Mate, neither have you,"

"Shut up,"

"You looove her, you wanna kiiiiissss her, you wanna-"

"SHUT UP!"

"-... marry her,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 19~Anna<p>

Ok, ok, I lied, I was not remotely planning on going swimming, even if I had had a swimming lesson, but still, I had an ok-ish reason! (Ok, it really wasn't all that ok-ish, but that's not the point). As soon as Dan and Liam were out of sight, I headed back to the main building, to my room.

I unlocked the door and checked to see that no one was around. Paranoia- it gets to you. Inside my room was a complete mess again, and, after locking my door (more paranoia) I took a few minutes to waste my time tidying it up. Then, I picked up my pile of notes –the non-school related ones- and sat down at my desk.

Wow, I thought, rifling through the papers, this is a whole lot of shit, with a few decent bits of shit in it. I'm really not going to get much out of this. Still, I went through it all again, just to check the less shitty bits.

"So much for a brilliant hacker," I scowled at the wall, "If you can't even find out where the fuck your own Dad's disappeared to,"

Bubbles of doubt grew in my mind. What if he _was_ dead? If he wasn't _why_ hadn't he made contact with anyone? I kicked my desk and curse. Why did my Dad have to be a stupid fucking MI6 agent? He was fine as a fucking BBC worker!

I crumpled up the piece of paper in my hand, angrily. Why? I thought to myself, scowling down at the clump of papers that had fallen off the desk. I hated feeling so unsure, so ignorant of my Dad.

Get yourself out of this sorry fucking mood and start doing something useful, bitch! I told myself. Nope, no good. I looked out of the window and tried to imagine what I would be doing, if my own Dad hadn't faked his fucking death and left us.

* * *

><p>Chapter 20<p>

Peter put his head in his hands. It was useless. The whole thing! Nothing, no contact, no sightings, no message, for three months! He rubbed his temples and stared out of the window in his office. Unfortunately, it didn't have a lovely view out onto the sunny streets of Manchester; the view was of the main control room of MI6.

Peter sighed and stood up; he was going to have to ask, yet again, for an extended amount of time on his search for Michael Simons, and his boss was _not_ going to be happy. He headed into the main control room, and looked around for The Spider, as everyone called him; he had contacts everywhere, and always knew where everyone was, and he had decided that his code name was to be The Spider. Everyone always knew, though, that his actual name was Sid Curt. Peter spotted him and headed over.

"Hey Sid," He grinned.

"Hey Pete," The Spider grinned back, "Who do you want?"

"Commander Karp," Peter sighed.

"The fish?" The Spider teased.

"The _Commander_," Peter said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, sorry, I get a little mixed up, sometimes," The Spider shrugged, "He's in the third meeting room. Talking about that prison thing, again,"

Peter nodded, "Thanks, Sid,"

"Hey, don't call me that," Scowled The Spider, but Peter was already gone.

Peter walked through some double doors at the back of the room, which lead into a maze of confusing corridors. He turned left and headed don a set of steps. Another man was on his way down, in rather much of a hurry, and he bumped into Peter quite hard. He was not tall, or small, simply average, wore glasses and had short, dark brown hair. He seemed very nervous, and didn't stop to apologise as he rushed past. Peter stared after him, but didn't say anything.

He arrived outside meeting room number three a few minutes later, and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A deep voice ordered.

Peter opened the door and stepped inside. A small, square table was sat in the middle of the room, and way too many people were gathered around it, all talking and arguing loudly. To one side stood an important man, who was waiting quietly for everyone to shut up. Peter walked over to him.

"Commander," He nodded respectfully.

"Hello, Peter," Commander Karp nodded back, "I suppose you're here to join the arguing," He said loudly, over the noise. He said it loudly enough that everyone was able to hear it. The shouting stopped and everyone looked slightly sheepish.

"Thank you," The Commander muttered.

"Actually, I haven't come to talk about the pros and cons of Manchester prison, although erm... Mac has a message for you about it. I'm here for another request."

There was a collected and exasperated sigh; everyone knew what Peter was talking about, and nearly everyone thought Michael was dead, and felt that they needed to move on.

The Commander sighed, "Peter, this is the fifth time, you know,"

"Yes sir, I know that, but Michael's a brilliant agent, and we've thought him dead before," Peter argued.

"That was only for a few weeks, though, never this long," The Commander pointed out quietly.

"Sir, I think that Michael may have his reasons for not contacting us, like we discussed," Peter mumbled edgily, not wanting to accuse outright, what they both suspected.

"I know, Peter, I know," Karp nodded sadly.

Peter looked around at the others, who were being very quiet and trying to understand what was being said. Peter spotted the nervous man with glasses that had pushed past him on the stairs. He was staring intently at the two of them, in a way that made Peter feel slightly uneasy.

The man stepped forward, looking at the Commander, "Sir, we all know that the search is pointless, like you pointed out, this Michael hasn't made contact for around three months. He is dead, most probably, and it's utter nonsense to keep this up. Peter," The man continued, "Surely you can see this? You're, as I've heard, an excellent agent, but you're wasting your time on a wild goose chase!"

Peter didn't say anything, but the Commander seemed to agree, "Peter, I'll give you until tomorrow to tie up your search, but Francis is right, there is simply too many other things that need doing. Michael isn't the first agent to disappear, and he won't be the last. We just have to learn to accept that."

Peter looked around, and saw the others nodding in agreement, looking fake and sad.

"I see," Peter mumbled gruffly, "I do not agree with your choice; Michael is my friend, my partner and probably one of the best agents we've had, but you are willing to give up on him. I can see why," He went on, seeing the Commander starting to protest, "But I don't agree with your choice,"

The Commander nodded, "I'm truly sorry, Peter, but it's the choice that is right. We'll need to sort you out with a new partner, I'm afraid, but until then, I don't suppose you'll mind if Francis works with you?" He gestured to the nervous man, who stepped forward and smiled. Peter shivered at the smile; to him, it seemed full of malice and evil. He told himself he was imagining it, and agreed quietly with Commander Karp to work alongside Francis temporarily.

"Now then, what was this message from Mac?" Karp asked.

Peter looked pointedly at all the other people in the room, Francis included.

"Oh, silly me," Karp grinned, "All right, you lot, take a break and come back in half an hour. And get all that argument out of you systems! I want to have reached an agreement by 3 o'clock!" Everyone shuffled out quietly. Francis seemed unsure what to do for a second, then headed for the door.

"Stay here, Francis," The Commander commanded.

Francis paused, "Oh, well, I don't really think that I should. If Peter wanted to tell you and you alone, then perhaps it should just be you that hears the message,"  
>"Nonsense!" Karp grinned, "You are Kennedy's new partner after all,"<p>

Peter grimaced to himself, but saw Francis' evil grin return, just for a fraction of a second, before it vanished, replaced by a meek look.

"If you say so, sir," Francis mumbled.

"So then, this message," Karp prompted.

Peter glanced sideways at Francis again, feeling positive that he shouldn't hear the message; something was off about the man –he seemed too fake, too... untrustworthy. And the man had pointed out himself that he was quite new. Peter took a deep breath, and, grudgingly told Commander Karp and Francis.

"Mac has requested the location of the safe house that we know some of the criminals are hiding in," He mumbled, "He says he wants an agent over there,"

Francis appeared to look slightly confused but interested, but Peter noted that his hands were now clenched and his back was unnaturally stiff.

"One of _his_ agents, or one of _mine_?" Karp asked.

"One of his," Peter said shortly.

"Sir, I think we should tell this Mac guy no," Francis spoke up.

"Why do you think that?" Karp asked curiously.

"Because any agent outside the house will most probably be spotted, and that will make them to question why no one has attacked them yet. They will get suspicious and move out. We might not be able to relocate them, if they do," Francis answered.

"I disagree, however," Peter put in, "All agents, even Mac's, no how to make themselves unnoticed- especially Mac's agents, if you get where I'm coming from- and we are in complete ignorance to what they are actually planning. We cannot be prepared if we do not know what to prepare for,"

"Think about it, even the most adept agent can make mistakes. We're in a delicate position here. One false move and our chances are gone," Francis argued.

"Not necessarily," Objected Peter.

"And you're willing to take that chance? Sir, are you sure you can even _trust_ this Mac person?" Francis butted in.

"Trust Mac?" Karp asked, "Of course we can!"

"How much do you actually know about Mac, or his organization? How many people actually know about the organization?" Francis asked, and Peter got the impression that this was for Francis' benefit just as much as it was for Karp's benefit.

"The people who need to know, know and they know just enough to keep the details a secret," Karp answered, but he seemed less sure.

"Their organization is built with the purpose of being a secret, they keep the secret so they remain effective," Peter added, "They are completely trustworthy, no matter the secrets they might keep,"

"Like their location, their number of agents, their former agents, their overall effectiveness. Do we really know anything about these people?" Francis asked insistently.

"You might not, but I know some of their agents and have a rough knowledge of their location," Peter said.

"Well, do tell us then," Francis waved him on.

"I will not tell you, it is not my secret to tell, and it is not a secret you need to know," Peter replied stiffly.

"There, see," Francis turned to Karp, "We know nothing, and those that do trust this agency over the rest of their own agency. These people are obviously not trustworthy,"

Karp shifted uneasily, "Francis has a point, Peter,"

"Are you two implying that I am in anyway disloyal to our cause?" Peter asked pointedly.

"Not disloyal, just mislead," Francis replied sweetly.

Peter looked Francis up and down. I do not trust that man one bit, he thought.

Karp turned to Peter, "Tell Mac that he cannot have it right now. Delay for as long as possible,"

Peter couldn't believe his own ears.

* * *

><p>Chapter 21~Emma<p>

Raine kicked me awake in the morning.

"Come on, get up!" She hissed at me.

"Mmmmm, go away," I mumbled, sticking my face deeper into the sleeping bag. Raine unzipped the sleeping bag and pulled it off me.

"Crap! It's freezing!" I hissed, sitting up.

Raine sighed and turned to our backpacks. I groaned and started packing away my sleeping bags. Day 98. I thought. Thank. God. Two more days, then it's over. We finished packing up our stuff, and the tent. It was barely light outside, and the others weren't up yet.

"What time is it?" I groaned.

Raine showed me a pocket watch. 6 o'clock. I could've cried.

"Where did you even get that from?" I asked.

"Found it in my backpack and thought it might prove useful," Raine shrugged.

We headed over to the fourth tent, and ducked inside. There were three even piles at the back of the tent, each with our numbers on. Raine headed for the middle pile, the one with '3 and 4' on it.

There was fresh food there, and some water bottles, which we added to our packs immediately. There was also some climbing equipment and a climbing harness for each of us. I glanced at Raine.

"Do you reckon that we'll actually need that, or do they just want us to carry extra weight?" I asked.

Raine shrugged, "We should probably take it, just in case,"  
>"Probably," I said, "But you don't think we should,"<p>

Raine shook her head, "I used to live in Scotland you know. Not very far North, only about a hundred miles away from the border, you know. We used to walk parts of the Pennine Way, my parents and me. Said we'd do the whole thing, some day. Never did, of course," Raine mumbled, then shook her head, "But, anyway, I know roughly where we are, and I can't think of any place we'll need these. There are a few steeper ways down, but it'll be easy to climb them if you've got someone who knows them well,"

"Well then, that's a load off our shoulders," I sighed, not knowing what to say.

Raine nodded, looking through the other stuff. She picked up a pair of chunky looking goggles. We both knew what they really were, after all our lessons. Night visions goggles. Raine slipped them into her backpack and stood up.

"Nothing else useful here," She mumbled, slinging her backpack over her shoulders, "Let's roll,"

We headed out of the tent, took a last look around, then headed off, flicking through our mission briefings again. The small map was attached at the bottom and Raine was studying it constantly, while I read out my translated version of the instructions to her, both of us still walking. After several minutes, Raine nodded to herself and we stopped to put the briefings away.

"So, where do we go?" I asked her as we set off again, walking quickly. It was cold out, and my legs were still stiff and sore from yesterday's walk.

"Well, it's another 30 miles 'till we climb down from the mountain. It's a bit steep, but we'll be fine. From there there's a small lake. We can steal a boat, swim across the lake or run round it, whatever we want, although the fastest way is the one that'll end up going bad; they catch you, you won't get to the checkpoint in time, and then you're screwed. Anyway, from there, we keep walking. It's mostly flat, but it's more miles than yesterday. About a further 44 miles. Added to the 30 miles to the lake, then the walk around lake (about 12 miles) that's 86 miles, just about. Luckily for us, I know some short cuts,"

I grinned, "Yeah, luckily for us. What's the deadline, by the way? I never managed to understand the time in Chinese,"

"The deadline's 8 pm; we don't have much time at all, really. Fourteen hours, less time than yesterday, added to the fact that we've got more miles to walk, and we're all dog tired from yesterday, it's gonna be pretty close, and we're gonna have to jog some of the flat part. We'll just walk while we're up here though," She added, seeing my alarmed expression.

So we walked. By the time Raine announced it to be 10 o'clock, we'd reached the steep downhill climb where we supposedly needed climbing equipment.

"Not too steep?" I gawped, looking at the seemingly vertical cliff-face-like climb down.

Raine grinned, "Don't worry; it's just about 3 metres down until it becomes flat enough to walk down. Follow me!"

She sat on the very edge and turned around, feeling around with her feet for a decent foothold, then she stood up again.

"This is easy," She grinned, and started climbing down.

"Just so you know, I can't rock climb!" I yelled at her.

"You don't have to!" Raine's disembodied voice yelled back.

Curious, I went over to where she'd sat, and, to my delight I saw a series of cuts into the rock, just big enough for you to rest your hands or feet on. It was almost like a ladder downwards.

I manoeuvred my way down the ladder and reached the bottom of it pretty quickly. Raine was grinning at me.

"That's the hardest bit done with; now we've just got to follow the path," She told me, pointing to a marginally less vertical piece of rock.

"Joy," I mumbled.

Raine set off in the lead, and scampered down without any hardships. She must've done it quite a few times before, here or somewhere else, because I kept nearly tripping and falling to my almost death.

It took us an hour or so to reach the bottom. Once we did, and I'd caught my breath again, Raine turned me and pointed another six or seven miles along the valley.

"_That's_ where we should have gone down. It would've taken forever to get down, even with climbing harnesses and all that rubbish. I only wish I could've told the others. But I'm not sure they'll be going the same way as us anyway. Come on, let's get going. We'll stop at the lake,"

"And I'm presuming you know everything about there too?" I asked, jokingly.

"I know its shores off by heart," Raine said, almost wistfully, then she turned and looked sadly at me, "I used to live there,"

* * *

><p>so... wow, this little space at the bottom seems so lonely without my reminders to review... lol :D<p> 


	6. Write Chapter Title Here

ok, so, sorry it took me so long- I got temporary-but-highly-dangero-I-mean-contagious-writers-block-and-like-why-is-it-actually-called-that-no-wait-I-get-why-never-mind... wait, is never mind one word, or two?

anyway, ignoring all that rubbish, here's the next few chapters :D

* * *

><p>Chapter 22~Anna<p>

Eventually I decided that if I was going to sit and feel sorry for myself in my room, I would end up missing tea. I went downstairs to locate a decent meal, and found Elizabeth and Tom eating off to one side. I went and sat down with them.

"Hiya guys," I smiled.

"Hey, no Dan?" Elizabeth asked, "You two seem almost joined at the hip, or something,"

"Nope, no Dan. Dan free moment," I mumbled, still feeling guilty about ditching Dan before.

Elizabeth must've seen my guilt, but she was artful enough to pretend she hadn't seen it while Tom was around. Tom wasn't as good with girly ways, and didn't seem too observant anyway.

"So, what's up with you guys?" I asked, after a moment.

"Nothing much. No decent gossip, tons of homework and too many restrictions," Elizabeth sighed, "At least we can go out tomorrow night. Start of the school holidays soon; only tomorrow left, then Easter!"

"Go out?" I quoted curiously.

"Uh huh, everyone gets the chance to go out on weekends and stuff, only, me, Andrew and Tom have been biding our time and waiting until we had enough money to get the scary movie box set,"

I grinned, "I'd pitch in, but I'm shit poor,"

Elizabeth's face fell slightly, "I'm not sure you can even go," She mumbled, and I gathered from her expression that there was another reason none of them had been going to the local shops recently, "Only qualified agents can go. Some of the red shirts go, but they're all supervised. I don't really know about you, since you're a trainee,"

I shrugged, "I'm not too bothered. Like I said; I'm shit poor,"

I glanced up at the clock, and saw it was 7 o'clock.

"Anyways, gotta go; I haven't seen Gabby yet, and she'll kill me if I don't.

Elizabeth grinned; she still had a soft spot for Gabby.

"I'll come with you," She offered, "See you later Tom," She grinned.

Tom waved and grinned back.

We put our plates away and headed over to the junior block, waving and saying hi to the occasional passerby who recognised me from my frequent visits.

Gabby was waiting for me already, sitting on her bed staring at the door.

"Hey! What's up,?" I asked, hugging her.

Gabby grinned and turned to Elizabeth.

"What're you doing here? I thought you'd be too busy kissing Tom," She teased.

Elizabeth blushed slightly, "Just because you walked in on us kissing _once_ does not mean that whenever I'm not around I'm off kissing him!" She cried.

"Go on, Gabby, tell us what happened!" I grinned.

"Well, I was just coming out of Maths, and I realised I'd left my reading book behind in the lunch hall, so I was heading back that way and thought it might be easier if I cut through the woods, you know. Well, actually, it wasn't quicker, I was just avoiding that weirdo freak, Ben. He has a habit of stalking me sometimes, and it's really annoying. Well, anyway, so I was walking through the woods and I spotted Elizabeth and Tom and-"

"Ok, enough, shut up! I do not need Anna to know all of this; she's annoying and will immediately tell everyone!" Elizabeth interrupted nervously.

Gabby and I stared at her.

"Ok, so I gossip sometimes, but that doesn't mean I always gossip!"

"Just like you're not always off kissing Tom?" I asked cheekily.

Elizabeth was torn between scowling and laughing, "Fuck off,"

I sighed dramatically, "If you insist! Sorry I came so late, Gabby, but I was busy being busy and all. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Gabby rolled her eyes, "Busy being busy?" She demanded with scorn.

"Tomorrow, then?" I asked patronizingly, just to annoy her.

Gabby laughed and gestured for me to get lost, "You are dismissed!"

"Nah, I don't really do the dismissed thing, I dismiss myself when I want to," I replied.

"Of course you do, Anna, but I want to do my homework before it's too late, and we're wasting time here, if Gabby has dismissed us," Elizabeth waved her hands about to emphasize the point, "You get what I mean, right?"

"Whatever,"

"Good, see you later, Gabby. And tell no one!" Elizabeth added ominously.

"Tell no one what?" Gabby asked.

"Good girl," Elizabeth nodded, sweeping dramatically from the room.

"No, seriously! What?" Gabby called after her.

I grinned at her, "See you around, my dearest little sister... You know, you should have been called Ethel..." I mumbled, after a pause.

"Ethel?" Gabby asked.

"Yup, then I could go, see you around, my dearest Ethel, and sweep dramatically out the room like Elizabeth, whilst looking completely crazy,"

"No thanks, I'll stick to Gabby," Gabby rolled her eyes.

"You disappoint me, Ethel!" I cried, running from the room.

"Good night!" Gabby called after me.

I caught up with Elizabeth who grinned, "Ethel?"

"Yes, Winifred, indeed," I said.

"Winifred?"

"Yes, Winifred,"

"Who's Winifred?" Dan asked.

Elizabeth and I jumped and turned around, to spot Dan, jogging up behind us.

"Dude, don't call out and jog. Run ahead, find a place to hide, wait till we're near enough, and then call out. It adds mysteriousness and glamour to your sudden appearance, and does not make you look like a simpleton," I sighed, shaking my head.

Dan looked at me weirdly, "Freak,"

"I know you are, but what am I?" I asked, grinning.

Elizabeth groaned- we'd been doing this on and off for a while now, and it annoyed her to no end.

"A freak," Dan grinned.

"I know you are, but what am I?" I asked again.

"A freak of nature," Dan replied.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"Amazing,"

"I know you are but- WAIT! You cheated!" I scowled.

Dan grinned, "I know you did, but did I?"

"Yes, dipshit,"

"Enough, ok, Dan won, Anna lost, boo hoo, no one gives a shit, move on in life, get over it,"

"Nooooo, it's, cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it, not just, get over it. Honestly, Elizabeth, if you're gonna get it wrong, get it right!"

"What the fuck?"

"... Your mindless, thoughtless and crazy mumblings never cease to amaze me with their stupidity," Dan stared at me.

"Why thank you, Theodore, your input was very insightful," I retorted.

"Theodore?" Elizabeth snorted.

"Yes, Winifred, Theodore," I told her scathingly.

"Ok, I have no idea what you guys were talking about, there," Dan mumbled.

"So, where did you disappear off to, oh mighty disappearing off one?" I asked.

"Nowhere in particular, I just got bored," Dan continued his mumbling tone.

"Bored, Theodore? And what does one do with oneself when one is bored?"

"What?" Elizabeth asked, confused.

"Um... One eats food and messes around?" Dan asked, unsure.

"How odd, one seems to be withholding information from oneself, and one seems rather nervous about withholding this information, one also seems to be slight confused by the stream of nonsensical sentences coming out of one's mouth," I grinned.

"Whaaaat?" Elizabeth asked again.

"Um, yeah, clever deduction, Dan mumbled.

"Ah, one is looking very uncomfortable for some unfathomable reason, has one, perhaps, been doing something one shouldn't have?" I teased.

"Um, nope, nothing against rules, not at all,"

"Ok, then, Dan, one like oneself must believe that one is telling oneself the truth,"

"Ok, if you say so," Dan shrugged.

Elizabeth, despite being incredibly confused by the context of one's conversation, laughed at one's joke.

"One should be very fortunate that one like oneself does not take that to offence," I told her.

"If you're not careful, you'll end up speaking like that all the time!" Elizabeth grinned.

"One is not amused by that, Winifred,"

One is certainly not amused! One thought to onese- Shit! I'm talking like an old fashioned weirdo!

"OK, you're right, shut up now," I yelped.

Dan and Elizabeth looked amused and smug. I elbowed them both.

"Shut up about it, ok?" I scowled.

"Whatever," Elizabeth grinned.

"Haven't you got a boyfriend to kiss?" I demanded.

"Haven't you?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Dan and me.

I stuck my finger up at her and she laughed, "Love is in the air!" She practically sang.

"Freak," I muttered, acting disgusted.

Elizabeth grinned, "Gotta go, anyway; I'm off to see Tom,"

"Good riddance!" I sniffed mockingly, then turned back to Dan, "So, now will you tell me where you've been?" I demanded, still curious.

Dan shrugged uncomfortably, "I've been given a mission,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 23<p>

Dan had got a mission again... He wasn't entirely sure what to think of it.

Dan had arrived outside John Jones' office an hour ago, after being told by a random grey-shirt that he was wanted there.

Dan knocked on the door, uncertain of what to do.

"Come in!" Called a voice.

Dan opened the door and headed in. Meryl, Mac, Peter and John Jones were together, and had obviously been discussing something important a few moments before. They all looked grim.

"Sit down, Dan," Meryl sighed as Dan stood in the doorway looking uncertain.

Dan sat down on a chair sandwiched between Peter and Meryl. It was possibly the most awkward place he'd ever had to sit. Mac was standing, pacing the room, and John smiled at Dan.

"Well, no doubt you want to know why you're here," He told Dan.

"Um, yeah, I was kinda wondering over that," Dan mumbled.

There are too many adults in here, Dan thought, I'm being overloaded by authority!

"Well, we've got a mission for you, obviously, but it's a tad complicated right now,"

Dan raised his eyebrows curiously, "Complicated how?"

Peter grimaced, "Complicated by unforeseen and unwanted reactions,"

Dan turned to look at Peter, "You what?"

Meryl sighed, "Why doesn't he read the mission briefing and then we'll explain the unwanted complications,"

John tossed a small document at Dan, who caught it and opened it apprehensively.

****CLASSIFIED****

**MISSION BRIEFING FOR DAN WHITNESS**

**THIS DOCUMENT IS PROTECTED WITH A RADIO FREQUENY IDENTIFICATION TAG. ANY ATTEMPT TO REMOVE IT FROM THE MISSION PREPARATION BUILDING WILL SET OFF AN ALARM.**

**DO NOT PHOTOCOPY OR MAKE NOTES**

**John Smith - Early Years**

John Smith was born in London, in the year 1963. His mother and father, Eileen and Gordon Smith, both worked shifts at the local pub. John was the second oldest of five children. He was very clever and almost all the teachers at his school expected him to go far, but he didn't. John spent a year studying Law and Politics at the University of Sussex, as he wanted to be either a lawyer, or an MP, working for the government, but he dropped out to work with a friend in Manchester, who had a job in a car factory, although no one knows why. He worked there for less than three months, and left Manchester soon after. Little is known of what happened afterwards; John seemingly disappeared for more than 20 years, not reappearing until 2001, and with a wife and three children.

**The Beginning of Dasakota**

John spent the next few years gaining valuable contacts from London up to Manchester and, although there is little evidence, it is believed that he formed Dasakota, a criminal organization with a network of members all throughout London at this time. Dasakota started out as little more than an exclusive street gang, which was responsible for most vandalism, muggings and the occasional fight. However, the group grew in size- by 2007 there were around 60 members- and John's ambitions as the leader of the group, grew too. They are thought to be smuggling guns, drugs into the country, and there is some evidence that they have also been supplying people with fake papers and ID's.

**Dasakota - Recent Years**

Recently, Dasakota has upped their game, going from street gang, to criminal organization, to an anti-government organisation. They are harassing MPs, attacking Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative supporters and starting up countless and violent protests against the government. They have done everything short of bombing the Houses of Parliament. It is thought that by they have more than 140 members, all across the country.

**Michael Simons**

Last year, MI6 sent in one of their most senior agents- Michael Simons- to discover as much as he could about Dasakota and see if he could find any way for another agent, Peter Kenedy to join the organization. He discovered several vital pieces of information - mostly about their latest plots against the government- and the whereabouts of several of their main headquarters, including where Dasakota is now based.

Unfortunately, Michael was discovered whilst trying to send the information to us, and he had to get away. However Michael crashed his car on the way into Manchester, although we suspect that the accident may have been set up. MI6 realised that Michael needed to disappear and faked his death.

On the way to a safe house, though, the car was attacked, and, although Michael Simons and two other agents got away, they have not yet contacted MI6, or anyone else. All three agents are presumed dead.

Some good news, perhaps, is that a CHERUB agent managed to get a massive amount of information on Dasakota's plans, and everyone is aware of any future attacks, if they happen.

Dasakota was also responsible for kidnapping two of Michael's children, Arron and Anna Simons. However, MI6 discovered where they were being held and managed to rescue Anna and Arron, as well as capture almost 50 members of Dasakota, including John Smith.

**The Role of MI6**

MI6 managed to send John Smith to Manchester's Class A Men's Prison. As Dasakota has many members from around Manchester, quite a few of them are familiar with the prison there. It is hoped that some of Dasakota's most important members will join together to try and set free John. MI6 plan to arrest John's colleagues whilst they try to help John escape.

**The CHERUB Mission**

CHERUB wish to send out an agent to spy and gather information on Dasakota's movements. Several of John's men are known to be hiding out in a mostly isolated safe house. The plan is to stay near and attempt to infiltrate the house to gather information, whilst the men are either out, or asleep. The mission would last around two or three days.

**NOTE: THE CHERUB ETHICS COMMITTEE PASSED THIS MISSION BRIEFING, ON CONDITION THAT ALL AGENTS UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:**

This mission has been classified as **MEDIUM** to **LOW RISK**. All agents are reminded of their right to refuse to undertake this mission and to withdraw from it at any time.

Dan looked up at the adults, feeling a little more than surprised, but still curious.

"You want me to go on a little mission and spy on people?" He asked incredulously, "Where's the problem with that?"

Peter sighed, "There is a delicate trust between different agencies, MI6 and CHERUB included. Very few people in MI6 know about CHERUB, and to ensure that the secret stays a secret, even those who do, know next to nothing. I don't even know the exactly where CHERUB is. Unfortunately, the fragile trust between MI6 and CHERUB seems to have been broken; the big-cheese of the Manchester division has been convinced that it may be best not to share everything MI6 knows about Dasakota. This includes the details of the plan to capture more of Dasakota's members, and the whereabouts of the safe house that we want you to watch,"

Mac sighed, "Well, we'll just have to work around it, if no one will trust us,"

Peter sighed and shook his head, "How are we supposed to find their safe house- we have no idea whatsoever of where it is? The only way I can think of is if I try and find the location and tell you myself,"

John shook his head, "I have to agree that it sounds nearly impossible, and you can't get the location yourself- you'd be fired and that wouldn't get us anywhere,"

Meryl nodded in agreement, "But what were you saying about your new partner before Dan arrived?"

Dan raised his eyebrows, but was ignored- Meryl and John were listening to Peter, and Mac looked deep in thought.

"Well, something's off about him- he seems too fake. He was the one who convinced Karp not to give you the location, and pushed Karp into making me call off the search for Michael. I don't trust him..." Peter scowled.

"And you said you thought Michael didn't want to approach the agency, in case there was a spy?"

Peter shrugged, "It was too suspicious- we were very careful about faking Michael's death and there was no way they would've been able to tell we were moving him that day. It makes sense to assume there was a spy. I know Michael will be thinking along those lines,"

John sighed, "That still leaves us with the problem if getting the location of the safe house,"

Dan frowned, "I get that this is important and all, but, it's just a few days of watching some people- why is everyone so desperate about it?"

John looked up at Dan, sharply, "You've read the part about MI6 planning to capture a few more of John Smith's buddies, right? Well, if there is a spy in MI6, then they'll be able to tell those buddies exactly what is being planned. We have no way of knowing how they'll react to that- they could just ditch John, or they could launch an attack at us, meaning that the whole operation would have been pointless, and they'd probably be able to spring John, too,"

Dan sucked air in through his teeth, "So, very important that we get the location, I get it. But, like you said, how do we get it?"

"We'll find it ourselves," Mac said, joining back into the conversation.

Peter looked at Mac, "I don't see how- it could be anywhere, Mac. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack,"

Meryl shook her head slowly, "I don't think that was how Mac meant it," She said slowly, turning to face Mac.

Dan, John and Peter followed suit, looking curious.

Mac was smiling thoughtfully, "Do you think she could?" He asked Meryl.

Meryl frowned, "Well, I know she's been looking into it lately. She'd only need a couple of hints here and there, but she's have a better shot at it than any of us,"

John, Peter and Dan looked between the two, feeling confused, and slightly annoyed at being left clueless.

"Yes... but will she do it?" Mac asked thoughtfully.

Meryl nodded, "It's about her dad just as much, and that's why she's trying in the first place,"

Dan frowned: he had a sneaking suspicion he knew who they were talking about. Peter, too seemed slightly more clued in, but John still looked incredulous.

"I think we should let her try- what harm can it do? She'll need to get going if she's going to do it, though," Mac nodded.

"Who are you talking about? What are you planning?" John asked, exasperated.

Mac grinned, "If MI6 won't give us the information we want, then it's simple: we'll hack it from them. And the best hacker on campus is-"

"Anna," Dan interrupted, finally piecing it all together, "The best hacker on campus is Anna,"

Peter grinned, "I'm pretty sure she'll never let you hear the end of it if she heard you say that,"

Meryl shook her head suddenly, "No, we're not going to tell her what we want her to do- she'll have to hack it without knowing that we're watching her,"

"Why?" Dan demanded, "Wouldn't she work harder if she knew that we needed the information?"

Meryl raised her eyebrows, "If Anna knew she could get away with it, she wouldn't even turn up for lessons. I highly doubt she would become a diligent student simply because we requested her help. She'll be quicker if we just leave her to it, I suspect,"

Dan grinned, "Yeah, you're probably right, that's exactly what Anna would do. In fact, she would probably take longer, just to annoy everyone,"

Peter pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile, no doubt remembering a younger version of Anna, from a time when he'd been to visit their house, "Yes, that's Anna to the core,"

Mac cleared his throat, "Well, the only problem we have is how to get the location from Anna,"

Meryl smiled, "I have some vague ideas, but they'll have to wait until I've thought them through,"

Mac nodded, and Peter stood up, "As good as it is to sit and chat, I've got to get back before I'm too sorely missed. I'll call in soon,"

Meryl and Mac nodded, and Peter shook John's hands.

Dan grinned at Peter, "See you around,"

Meryl turned to Dan, "You better go too, if you want to get all of your homework done,"

Dan raised an eyebrow, "Why, are you going to punish me for not doing any of it when I've had to spend the past hour sitting talking to you?"

Meryl grunted, "Yes, now get going!"

Dan sighed, shook his head and headed out.

* * *

><p>Chapter 24~Emma<p>

We sat and ate at the side of the lake- a sort lunch, only, with a lot less food. Raine was looking around her sadly. She kept pointing out places where she'd been- a half-collapsed pier, several hundred metres away, where she'd once dived off and nearly broken her arm, because the water had been too shallow.

"It got wrecked in the floods a few years ago," She sighed.

I looked at Raine, unsure what to do or say.

Then Raine pointed further up the lake, a few miles away, in the opposite direction from where we were going. If I squinted, I could just make out a small church-like blob at the side of the lake.

"That's where my parents are buried," Raine sighed.

I could see the tears in her eyes, and knew she meant more than was said.

"Raine," I mumbled, feeling horrible, "It's about five miles in the other direction. We can't go there and get to the checkpoint in time,"

Raine looked up at me pleadingly, "I know my way round: we can take short cuts, or run or anything! Please, Emma!"

I glanced between her and the distant blob, and stood up.

"If we fail out, and I have to do Basic Training again, and with my sister, I may just kill you,"

Raine hugged me so hard I couldn't breathe, "Thank you, Emma," She mumbled.

"No problem," I muttered.

Raine picked up her backpack and waited for me to get up. We set off again, walking side by side, trying to ignore the fact that we were walking in the completely wrong direction.

It took us half an hour to reach the church and little graveyard, at a pace that was just short of jogging. I'd over estimated the distance, and was relieved to find that, actually, it was only about two and a half miles.

There was no one around and the place looked creepily deserted. It struck me that Large must have known at least something about Raine's past. He must have known she lived around here. Maybe that was why we'd gotten this route. Maybe he was planning for Raine to get sidetracked. I frowned, and looked around again, whilst Raine headed through the gravestones to the end of the graveyard. The graveyard was very small, and a little stone path led between the graves, and to the exit, on the far side. I sighed and followed Raine cautiously.

When I reached her, she was kneeling in front of a plain marble gravestone. The stone, once white, was turning almost green from the dirt and mould on it. The writing on it was near illegible, and just trying to read it gave me a headache. I glanced at Raine, who was wiping her eyes on her sleeve, and I sat down next to her.

"You ok?" I asked, after a minute.

Raine sniffed a bit, still crying and looked at me, "I just... I never got to say goodbye to them or anything. I wish I could..."  
>I sighed, thinking of my own Dad, "Yeah, I wish I could too," I mumbled.<p>

Raine smiled weakly, and glanced back to the gravestone, "I wish I could wash it, or even just give them some flowers," She sighed.

I looked around for inspiration, but there were only a few weeds. And a peculiar looking camera mounted on the wall of the church, ten metres away. I turned slowly back to Raine, feeling paranoid.

"Raine, was there always a camera on the church? Because it strikes me that it would be very pointless to have one mounted there, where the only decent view you'd get is of these particular graves,"

Raine frowned, and shook her head, "I'm sure there was never any camera. The church is about six or seven miles away from the actual village- there's no point to the camera,"

"So why is it there?" I demanded, thinking. Then I froze, remembering how I'd thought that Mr Large would guess that Raine would come here, "Raine, I think we should go. I think we were expected to come this way," I hissed at her, feeling the need to speak as quietly as possible.

Raine nodded, and wiped the rest of her tears away, then murmured, "If they were expecting us, and set a trap, where would they put it?"

I glanced at her, thinking, "Well, I'd say, either at this grave, which is cruel beyond words, or at the entrance or exit to the graveyard,"

"Well, it can't be here, or the entrance," Raine replied, "Otherwise we would have discovered what they are planning to do already,"

"So..." I frowned, "Shall we just... hop over a fence?"

Raine rolled her eyes at me but shouldered her backpack and stood up anyway. She glanced back her parents' grave and sighed, "Come on, let's go,"

I smiled sympathetically at her and set off after her quickly. We clambered over the fence, jumping down on the other side and setting off at a faster pace. I felt too exposed, out in the open. I glanced at Raine again, and we both sped up without talking.

When we were about two hundred metres away, we finally slowed down, and allowed ourselves to look back. I couldn't see anyone around the church, and there was no real evidence of anyone but us being there.

Raine shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, "Maybe their only aim was to distract us, you know, by making us go all this way,"

I nodded, "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, or something," I sighed uneasily, "Anyone could have put up the camera,"

I still felt unsure, but we turned back and started off in the right direction again. After about 20 minutes of quick walking, we arrived by the side of the lake, where we'd been earlier.

I sat down, resting my poor, blistered feet and turned to Raine, "What time is it?" I groaned.

Raine checked, "About 1 o'clock," She sighed.

"We have around fifty six miles to cover, in seven hours?" I groaned.

Raine looked apologetic. I pulled myself up and started walking.

"We need to get some bikes," I mumbled.

* * *

><p>The review button's got dust on it, you know<p> 


	7. Happy Times, Hacking Times and Cycling

Ok, sorry I haven't posted in... several days but I have an excuse! we had exams -_- not. cool. and nope, they weren't serious exams, just end of year ones, which means that, no I only spent 20 minutes revising overall. That was on chemistry, by the way. Don't ask why. It was the forst file I picked up...

Don't worry, non of my depressed shit-theres-exams-this-week-and-I-haven't-revised-at-all or my well-I-have-done-my-exams-and-i-know-i-have definitily-failed-my-english-test is in the next chapters.

Having said that I had an excuse to fail my test! IT WAS A RUBBISH QUESTION! How many people here read magazines with a piece of persuasive writting about CHARITIES for PEOPLE IN NEED! I'm all for the charities and stuff, just not reading the article about it! D: so, as you can gather, I'm very worked up/completely pissed off, with my english exam. But, anyway, back to the story

* * *

><p>Chapter 25~Anna<p>

Friday... Isn't it such an immense day? I mean, seriously, how many times a week do you get out of bed and go, "Ah, thank God it's Tuesday!" No, seriously. Thinking about it, I'd say never to once a week... unless you're weirdly demented and have two Tuesday's in your week. Which would be weird... Ok, now I'm rambling... a lot. Basically, my point is, how can no one not love Friday? And, yes, I know that was a double negative. And, FYI, I don't care. Ok, now I sound like snobbish-brat-Sandi, as I have now spontaneously renamed... well, Sandi.

Ok, ok, back to the Friday loving point. The only thing you can hate about Friday is the appallingly FAKE lyrics Rebecca Black sings in that song. Ok, so now I'm going overboard with the hating thing. Not that I hate anything, just the really bad rhyming, which is really hypocritical, since I rhyme like that...

I really am babbling... don't worry, my brain was just splurging random non-understandable words at me. I don't really know what spontaneous, or hypocritical actually mean. Try the Dictionaurus. No, wait, its dictionary... Well, I tried, I truly did. I don't know what I tried for, but I tried...

Dan sat down at the table next to me, jolting me out of my brain commentary. He guessed immediately that I'd been having one of my weird talking-to-self moments, and rolled his eyes.

"You need serious help," He told me, shovelling in a mouthful of cereal.

"Who cares?" I cheered, "Its Friday! The Easter holidays start at the end of today! No school work on Saturday!"

Elizabeth slid onto the chair next to me and grinned, "It's Friday, Friday, Gotta get down on Friday! Everybody's looking forward to the weekend!" She sang.

I groaned and put my head in my hands, "Quit it with the idiotic lyrics!" I groaned.

Elizabeth grinned, and immediately started on another verse, "Yesterday was Thursday, today it is Friday, we-we-we so excited, we so excited, we gonna have a ball today,  
>tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards!"<p>

Dan choked on his cereal, "What the hell is that?" He spluttered.

Elizabeth looked offended, "A song,"

"The lyrics are shit!" Dan sniggered.

"Laugh all you want, but the jokes on you, the song's been out forever, and yet you didn't hear it until this morning," Elizabeth said icily, clearly annoyed.

Dan shrugged, "With a song like that? I'd rather not know,"

I finished my toast and shrugged at Elizabeth, hoping that she wouldn't drag me into the argument by pointing out that I'd been insulting Friday moments before... To my relief- and Dan's- Tom arrived before Elizabeth got too far in stabbing us.

"You're not going on about that pathetic song again, are you?" He groaned.

Well, maybe not relief. More like horror. Elizabeth turned on Tom, "It's a brilliant song and I love it and you lot are just too stupid to realise how amazing it is. Rebecca Black is a year younger than us, and yet she's already written her own song!"

The three of us raised our eyebrows in unison- a _very_ scary effect.

"I never realised you wanted to be a song maker," Dan muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah, chill out Elizabeth," Tom agreed.

Elizabeth turned on me, scowling, "And what about you,"

I shrugged, "The lyrics are still shit, no matter what age she is,"

"Yeah," Tom added, "And, that music video you made me watch, like, wasn't her friends driving a car?"

Elizabeth glared murderously at us, picked up her breakfast and with a final, "I guess I'll go sit with someone who has taste!" stormed off.

"Bye!" I waved cheerfully at her.

Dan looked witheringly at Tom, "You've been with her for nearly a year now, and you _still_ don't know when it's best to just let it go and agree with her?"

Tom shrugged, "Nothing you say is going to make me submit to Elizabeth yapping on all day about that stupid song. It came out a while ago and she's still obsessing over it,"

Dan went back to shovelling in cereal, "Well, who cares, like Anna said, it's almost the Easter holidays,"

At this point, Andrew arrived and sat down on the other side of Dan and me, sitting where Elizabeth had just been.

"Hi, Andrew!" Tom grinned.

Dan nodded in Andrew's direction, making a big thing of showing how little he wanted Andrew here. I rolled my eyes at Tom as Andrew deliberately ignored Dan. Neither Tom, Liam, Elizabeth or me could understand Dan and Andrew's aversion to admitting they got on OK.

"Hiya Andrew, how's things? Missing Emma?" I grinned, getting ready for another breakfast of teasing Andrew about his obvious crush on Emma. It was amusing to hear from Dan, Liam, Tom and Elizabeth that my sister fancied Andrew too. Of course, for the most part, I hadn't been around Emma when she was with Andrew, so I had no idea of what she actually felt for him.

Andrew glowered at me, so I smiled cheerfully, "Only two days 'til she comes home!"

"And another three weeks until you go away," Andrew muttered.

"Ooooh, that hurt," I laughed.

Andrew turned to Dan, "Are you sure you won't start pining for your beloved Anna while she's away?" He growled spitefully.

Dan grinned, "Not as much as Anna will miss you,"

"Yeah, it's going to be soooo hard, like, going 100 whole days without seeing your ugly face every meal," I sighed melodramatically.

Andrew scowled. Tom and Dan laughed. Liam came over and plonked himself next to Dan. I sighed, glancing at our table. With no Emma or Elizabeth, I was the only girl in our group right now. It was kinda weird and disconcerting, actually. The others were oblivious to my thoughts, and all grinned at Liam. I scowled at him instead.

Liam grinned and turned right to me, "Hey Anna, you know you're recent threat about the hacking? Try it now. I just found this new computer software where it changes passwords every other hour. Now it's impossible to hack,"

I nodded, amused, "So how do _you_ log in?"

Liam's grin faltered slightly, "Um..."

Everyone else burst out laughing. I stood up, brushing crumbs of toast off my lap.

"Well, see you guys around, I'm off to go hack into Liam's account," I grinned, and headed off.

"Aren't you supposed to be going to your History lesson?" Dan called.

"Yup!" I replied, turning to roll my eyes at him.

Dan muttered something unintelligible, before he said, "See you later, then,"

I waved jauntily and set off back to my room, on the sixth floor. I locked the door behind me, then picked up mine and Emma's laptop and flopped back onto the bed, switching it on.

While the laptop loaded up, I considered what to do- hack Liam's account, or go back to hacking MI6. I opted for hacking Liam's account before another attempt at hacking MI6.

Finally, the computer finished booting up, and I started work, hacking, first into Liam's account- and with ease, I may add- then into his emails.

I scrolled through his sent mail until I found the right contact- Elizabeth.

Dear Elizabeth,

I typed,

I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed some of your special editions of that magazine you're obsessed with. Don't worry, there is a 25% chance you'll get them back intact- I'm using them for my art project, you see. I didn't want to tell you face to face in case you slapped me, which would hurt, so I'm sending this instead.

Liam.

P.S. I hope you don't mind, but I also 'borrowed' your make up for my art project too. I'm not sure that will be coming back at all. Oh, and the soles from your high heels make very good oven gloves when all sewed together.

I smiled and read over the email, knowing that Elizabeth would totally freak and kill Liam if she thought he'd taken her magazines, high heels _and_ her makeup. It helped that she was already feeling murderous.

Now, I thought, sending the email and locking my computer, let's just add a final touch to this set up. I snuck out of my room and down the silent corridor- everyone else was at lessons. I picked the lock easily on Elizabeth's room and peeked inside. No one was there. Perfect. Feeling evil, I picked up some of Elizabeth's makeup, high heels and magazines and hid them under her bed. Now, she'd think for certain that Liam had taken her stuff.

Not wanting to stick around and get caught, I snuck back out, shut the door but didn't lock it, and jogged back to my room. I grinned in anticipation for Elizabeth's reaction and went back to my laptop, knowing full well I'd need something to cheer myself up when I failed, once again, at managing to even find the main control server for MI6, let alone hack into it.

I sighed and glanced around me for inspiration, finally ending up at my cupboard, where someone had hastily thrown my stuff in when I'd arrived here, and where I just couldn't be bothered to fully unpack everything. I dug through the crumpled clothes and random stuff, until I found an old notebook. I grinned, extracting it carefully and rolling my eyes as it still managed to fall apart. This was one well used, very old, very battered notebook.

I flicked through it, reading the notes I'd made when Dad had been at a dinner party next door and had accidentally left the computer out. It had been the first time I'd ever tried hacking something without my Dad. I was seven at the time, and I managed to hack into my Dad's 'secret website' he called it. He'd never told us what was actually on the website, and it wasn't a very noticeable website to begin with. Just a plain, black screen with a username and log in box. No 'Remember Me' or 'Remember Password' boxes either. My curiosity had gotten the better of me, and I'd spent at least three hours hidden away in my Dad's office, until, finally, I'd typed in a code long and complex enough to let me bypass the security log in. I was still struggling to read brilliantly, and my Dad had rushed in and found me before I'd picked up anything memorable.

I smiled at his reaction. He'd burst in, angry and panicked, only to find his seven year old daughter sitting calmly at his desk, trying to read something. He'd shook his head at me, amazed, and told me that I really shouldn't be on his computer, but that he was proud of me for getting that far. Then he switched off the computer and firmly pushed me back into my room with Emma, and told me to go to sleep.

I frowned, thinking about how quickly Dad had come in after I'd just bypassed the log in, but shrugged, glimpsing over the notes I'd secretly scribbled down afterwards. The writing was pretty illegible, from excitement, and not enough practise. I turned the page, and found another long list of notes and instructions, written in a slightly more understandable script.

It had been a few months afterwards- I'd just turned eight- and I'd hacked into my school website's editing software, and totally changed all the stuff on it, then changed the password, so that no one could undo my special changes. No one had ever found out it who it was that had changed the background to pictures of lemons, or who had added a whole extra page on made up punishments, although my Dad could've, if he'd known about the notebook, and checked it. But he didn't know- no one did.

There was another entry, on the next page, this time with confusing joined up writing that looked anything but neat. I smiled, remembering the why I'd written it down in here. It was the first time I'd hacked into the police's database and totally turned all the evidence for a local punch up, which Arron had been caught up in, and blamed. Arron had been taken into custody three hours earlier, and was a little more than bemused to find that he was leaving after only a few hours in jail.

I shut the cupboard door, and curled up on my bed, flipping my way through the notebook, completely submerged by the little feats that I'd written about in there.

* * *

><p>Chapter 26~Emma<p>

We spotted the distant village long before we were anywhere near it. Raine didn't need to check her map to tell me that it was around five to ten miles away from us, and the quickest way would to avoid it altogether. We argued hotly over this.

"We need a set of bikes, its 3 o'clock, so we have five hours left, but we still need to cover forty five miles. That's about eight miles per hour, or something. We're doing about four." I objected.

"Therefore it makes sense not to add more miles onto this hopeless trek. We might not even be able to get bikes, and then it would be a complete waste!" Raine pointed out, frustrated.

"It's worth a try! I can't keep up this pace for another five hours, but I could cycle a lot faster, and we'd have a lot more time," I sighed.

Raine shook her head, "It's worth a try, but not worth a risk. We're risking dropping out of Basic Training, here!"

"If I drop out of Basic Training because I had twenty miles left to go and couldn't walk another step, then it'd suck, but I could cover twenty miles on a bike in no time! It's all flat, so we'll be able to eat up the miles!"

Raine pursed her lips, as we continued walking. After ten minutes of silence, we reached the fork in the road. One part of the road split off back to the lake, where Raine wanted to head off. The other lead to the village, where I was determined to go. I looked pleadingly over at Raine, who scowled, went to the side of the road and picked up a daisy. Slowly she pulled off the petals, "Left, right, left, right," She murmured as she went, "Left, right, left."

We both glanced to recheck which way was left. It was the road to the village. I grinned at Raine and she sighed and rolled her eyes. We set off towards the village, Raine dragging her feet.

"Don't," I told her, grinning, "It wastes energy," She whacked me lightly on the shoulder.

The village was kinda sweet looking, full of small cottages with lovely gardens and hanging baskets of flowers at the doors. It was kinda like a retirement village for old people. No one seemed to be out and about today, so Raine and I walked slowly through the village, but remained practically unnoticed. I kept my eyes peeled for anything that resembled a bike and tried to look casual. Raine was looking at me witheringly, clearly still thinking this was a rubbish idea.

"This is such a waste of time! The only people who live here are about seventy five and they won't ride a bike!" Raine moaned.

"But they might still own one. Maybe they have grandchildren or something," I mumbled.

Raine shook her head at me, giving up. I glanced ahead and saw that the road was now heading out of the village. I was getting kinda desperate, now. I looked around, and spotted nothing remotely helpful.

Raine scowled at me, "Come on! Let's not waste any more time!" She growled, dragging me out of the village.

We left the road going out of the village, and headed left, back to the lake. I turned and glanced back through the back gardens of the small houses and bungalows.

"Raine!" I hissed suddenly, grabbing her arm.

"What?" She asked, turning to look where I was pointing. Four bikes were propped up against the fence of one of the gardens. We glanced at each other, and made our way over, trying not to be seen.

I glanced into the garden, and saw the back door was open, but no one was outside. I nodded at Raine, who leaned over and grabbed a bike, trying to lift it over the fence without anyone noticing. I grabbed it from her as soon as she had it high enough to pass over the fence, and put it on the ground. Raine grabbed another bike, and we pulled it clear, just before we heard someone talking loudly, coming into the garden. We ducked behind the fence, Raine looking panicked. I grinned at her, and motioned for her to grab a bike. Keeping low, and dragging our bikes along the ground next to the fence, so no one could see us, we scuttled away.

As soon as we were about twenty metres away, we stood up and got on the bikes. I grinned at Raine and we started cycling.

"We'll cycle forty five miles in no time!" I laughed.

Raine smiled back, not so enthusiastic, "I wish we hadn't had to steal their bikes. It just seems mean,"

I sighed and nodded, still cycling, "Yeah, but we had to, if we wanted to pass basic training,"

I decided I'd probably feel guilty after I'd had a nice long bath and lots of junk food and a very long rest. Right now, I was fine with it.

We cycled in silence for several... I don't know, it could have been minutes or hours, miles or metres, but we rode in silence. My legs were decidedly less painful when I was cycling, but I knew when I got off my stolen bike, they would be sore beyond belief.

Raine was still quiet, three hours later, when we got off our bikes briefly to have a rest, eat something and check the exact whereabouts of the meeting point that we were approaching.

We translated our briefings while we were eating, and then discussed what to do next.

"It looks as if we have to go on another five miles or so, cross country, to a small wood," Raine mumbled thoughtfully,"

I glanced at our pathetic maps and frowned thoughtfully, "I'm not sure that riding our bikes through that many fields and dirt tracks is going to get us there any quicker than walking,"

Raine nodded, staring at the vague direction of where we had to go, "So we ditch them?" She sighed regretfully.

I nodded, "Fastest way. Plus I don't really want the instructors to know unless they have to,"

Raine agreed and we packed up, leaving the bikes, and started walking again. As I had predicted, my legs were very sore. While we walked, we talked, since we could do so without getting bugs in our mouths (yeuch!).

"What do you think we're going to have to do for the final challenge part of this whole thing?" I asked Raine.

Raine shrugged, "I don't even know what we're going to be doing tomorrow,"

"That's is extremely helpful," I said sarcastically.  
>"Glad it was to you," Raine replied lightly.<p>

I glanced around, and spotted a road going along the side of the field at the far end. I pointed it out to Raine, who walked at a faster pace so that we could find out where the road led. Because it seemed to lead, very suspiciously, to the small woods we were supposed to be staying in.

As we finally reached the road, we looked up and down it. There weren't any cars around, and, just as we'd thought, it led straight into the woods. Raine glanced sideways at me.

"We may as well just follow it," Raine suggested.

"It can't hurt, I suppose," I sighed, and we started walking again.

It was only another few hundred metres to the woods, so we took our time getting there. As we reached the start of the woods, Raine exclaimed in a surprised voice. She pointed at a sign, half hidden behind tree branches. It read;

Littlewoods Campsite

07564873240

£4 Per Person, Per Night

Underneath was another sign, with the times that the campsite opened. Apparently, there was a curfew on this campsite. No one was allowed in or out of the campsite after 8pm.

I raised my eyebrow at Raine, "Coincidence?" I asked sceptically, waving my hand at the sign.

Raine frowned, "I suppose not, but where are we going to get the money to pay for a night here?"

I shrugged, "Maybe we've got to use our initiative,"

Raine's frown deepened, "Emma, we're training to be spies who catch out the bad guys. We're not training to steal and cheat people,"

I raised my hands in surrender, "Ok, ok, I was just suggesting it!"

"I don't particularly like your suggestions, then," Raine replied, "It just doesn't seem right to do stuff like that,"

"Ok then, we won't. We might not even be staying at the campsite. Just because it's here, doesn't mean we're staying here," I said.

Raine agreed silently, and we continued down the road in silence. Raine rechecked her mission briefing again, but it seemed as if she'd given up on getting further instructions from it, since she didn't comment on it.

We followed the road for another two or three minutes until we arrived outside a barrier. Raine and I shared a look. Whatever we were supposed to do now, we should probably do it before someone told us to clear off. Fortunately, the guard type person in the little hut next to the barrier hadn't seemed to notice us yet.

I looked around us, then at Raine, "How about we just sneak in and take a look around the campsite. If there aren't any clues from anyone as to what or why we're meant to be here, then we'll go and camp somewhere else in the woods, ok?"

Raine sighed, and nodded, and, keeping a close eye on the guard, we snuck past him and under the barrier. The road led us down another twenty metres, until we turned a corner and the road seemed to stop suddenly and turn into a medium sized clearing, with a few tents pitched in.

It seemed obvious which one was ours. On the side of the tent was a picture of a baby holding a bow and arrow. It was a picture of a cherub.

* * *

><p>Yeah, so I drew a picture:<p>

(.';) It's the poor review button. And those black dots? They're the dust you've let collect on them. It's very sad :'(

Although, I do thank those people (snowflake :D and... what did we decide to call you? oh well, miss studious/creative/precice/ The Latin Godess ok, and then squiggle x and purplefreak111! THANKYOU YOU NICE PEOPLE! (and, yes, i do know that there is supposed to be a space between thank and you... I just can't be bothered to correct it... -_- :D


	8. Friday Nights, Well, Night, Really

hahaha all that worry over nothing... I didn't fail my english, relief. now, everything can go back to normal. The. End.

well, until next year's summer exams *shudder*

anyway, on with the story.

* * *

><p>Chapter 27~Anna<p>

It was weirdly uplifting, all that nostalgic, going-through-a-reasonably-large-sized-notebook-filled-with-my-most-worthy-achievements. Then again, remembering the times when I hacked into something or other (like the local library's official database) and changed half of the stuff into something or other (like another language. Like Arabic) is bound to make you have a good laugh. I closed my notebook, having finally reached the end of it, and tucked it in the ever-so-original space between the mattress and bed frame.

I stood up and stretched, almost shocked to realise my trip into the far away and distant past had taken me up to lunch time. I grinned, cracked my knuckles and headed downstairs to see the others.

The trip down the stairs was uneventful, really. Well, apart from the broken-down lift, and the navy shirt in front of me, who took the whole 'trip' down the stairs part a little too seriously. And then there was that guy and girl on the first floor who were clearly having a massive row. See? Not much eventful much stuff happens around me.

So, anyway, I grabbed a tray of food and plonked myself at a random empty table. Glancing around, I saw that there was almost no one around. I guessed the poor saps that turned up for class were being forced to absorb some last minute facts. I picked apart my cheese and ham toastie with pleasure and ate some of my apple.

After a few minutes, a few people wondered in, but the place still seemed worryingly quiet. Curious, I finished eating my apple, picked apart my toastie a bit more, and set off to discover where everyone was.

10 minutes later, and I still hadn't spotted anyone. Well, I had spotted people, just none of my friends. It was a bit disconcerting, to be quite frank. Eventually, I was forced to retreat upstairs because everyone else was heading off for afternoon lessons.

However, as I was walking down the corridor to my room, I heard an oh-so-familiar shriek of rage.

"LIAM! What have you done with my stuff?" Elizabeth screamed into the corridor.

I struggled to keep a straight face and turned to Elizabeth, "Hey, what's up with you?" I asked looking curious.

Elizabeth could possibly have bitten my head off, judging by the look she gave me.

"Liam has been IN MY ROOM, STEALING _MY _STUFF!" Elizabeth screeched.

"Sheesh! Ever tried getting a lock?" I sighed.

Never mind possibly, I thought, if I hang around here much longer, Elizabeth will definitely bite my head off! Although, it was probably my own fault anyway, if I was winding her up. But that's beside the point. Cos it would be boring if I thought about actions and their crappy consequences all the time.

Elizabeth looked at me angrily, and asked, "I suppose you're planning to skive off lessons this afternoon,"

I shrugged, "Yup, probably. I've got history, maths and geography this afternoon. As well as swimming, tonight, soooo... I'll probably give some of it a miss,"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "One day, Anna Simons, you'll get caught out, and punished. And that day will come sooner than you expected. And I will laugh when you complain about punishments," She muttered darkly.

I grinned, "Oh, good, I'll see you on that day then, dark, mysterious and sadly pessimistic weirdo,"

Elizabeth stuck her finger up at me, and I waved as I headed back to my room. Back in my room, I contemplated – very shortly- the pros and cons of turning up for lessons this afternoon, then decided I was too lazy. I'd go to swimming tonight- since no one would be around- but that was it. So, what does one do with four hours of free time until dinner?

Well, me? I... hack stuff. For no reason at all. Completely randomly. I used to play a game. Chose a two random letters, and find someone who had those initials. Then I'd hack their private stuff.

I frowned. There was no one's account I actually wanted to hack right now. I frowned, switching my laptop off, and plonking it on the desk.

For once in my life, (well, maybe not once. Maybe a couple of times...) I was bored. I paced my room for a few minutes, debating what I should do. I definitely wasn't doing school work, however bored I got. No, I wasn't gonna do homework, either. Or anything school related.

I glanced outside and saw that it was drizzling. That's that, then, I thought to myself, you're going jogging. I shrugged on a warm-ish jacket, and quick-walked downstairs and out of the building.

Outside, it was cold and beginning to be wet, so I started jogging immediately, just blindly, in any direction. I guess, if you were a fit, healthy person, jogging could be almost therapeutic. But not a lot of people are fit and healthy, so that sucks.

I guess jogging is some people's way of clearing their heads. Meh, I'm not that bothered, me, I find that, mostly, my head can take my thoughts. Jogging here, though, I found myself wondering about my dad.

Where was he? What had happened to him? Why hadn't he spoken to anyone? It was a mystery, to everyone. I wondered, if I was on the run, and trying to find somewhere safe, where I would run to. Then I stopped, just under the shelter of the trees.

Would I have even run? Or would I have tried to gather information to bring my pursuers down? Infiltrate them, and find out how to bring their organization crashing. That's what I would have done. If I was a top secret MI6 agent, on the run and trying to get away.

Hiding in plain sight. It would be a clever thing to do. I shook my head, and started walking again, not even out of breath. I was walking deeper into the trees, since the rain was coming down harder now, and, although I'm mostly not that bothered, I still don't like wearing soggy clothes.

Several metres back into the trees, I found a wide... tree (do not ask me tree types, I don't know any of them... apart from maybe conker trees) that looked good enough to climb up. And, before you ask, yes, I do enjoy climbing trees in my spare time. And, no, that does not mean there is anything wrong with me... I don't think so, anyway...

About halfway up, I glanced around, and saw, well, not much, apart from branches, leaves and more trees. And a few chunks of the main building. But, overall, let's stick with me seeing not much, which was probably not even worth me mentioning, but still.

I climbed until I found one of those legendary forks in the tree, you know, the ones everyone seems to be able to find but you? I have climbed many trees and found that this legendry fork is a lie! Because, when you climb a tree, you almost never find one. It's very sad.

Anyway, while jogging is 'therapeutic' tree climbing... isn't. So, by the time I climbed back down again (having gotten severely bored sitting alone in the legendary tree fork for about half an hour, doing absolutely nothing, and eventually attempting to meditate) I had several scratches, a sore foot and a soaking wet sleeve – note to self, when falling out of a tree, try _not_ to grab onto the only wet branch on the tree within reaching distance.

I jumped the final metre and glanced around again, leaning back on the tree and trying to figure out how much time I'd wasted here. An hour, maybe an hour and a half at the most. If I was seriously unlucky, three quarters of an hour. Hopefully, I'm usually only a tad bit seriously unlucky (and no, there is not any possible way a way in which you can possibly read that sentence and actually mostly maybe understand what I have said or not said or hinted at not saying. And you can't read the next one and understand it, either...)

I jogged slowly back to the main building, slightly surprised to spot a crowd of around forty people heading back from lessons. I spotted Tom and Liam near the back, and jogged up to them.

"Hey, what's up? Where are you guys heading?" I asked, not looking Liam in the eye in case my smirk gave myself away. He seemed to have a black eye.

Tom shrugged uncomfortably, "As a one of, we're allowed out early. Everyone's getting changed and heading out for our night out,"

"Oh," I nodded, understanding why he was uncomfortable – I couldn't go. I grinned, "Well, I hope you're not waiting for Elizabeth or anything- she could be a while,"

Liam nodded, "Yeah, she's still trying to find the makeup that I haven't nicked," He mumbled. Then he looked at me sharply, "How did you know she's lost her makeup?"

I raised an eyebrow and grinned smugly, "Who said anything about the makeup, Liam? I simply said she could be a while," I replied, leaving Liam no doubt who had hidden the makeup, and Tom in a confusion, where evidence seemed to point at me being innocent of something.

"Aw! Jesus, Anna! She gave me a freaking black eye!" Liam complained at me.

I shrugged, "Your problem, not mine," I replied, suppressing a laugh, and slipping out of the crowd and up to the elevators. Which weren't working. I sighed and stomped over to the stairs.

I shut the door to my room, and checked the clock. I was a bit miffed to find that it was almost half four. I shrugged, and decided that, since I was now sweaty from my jog, wet from the rain, and muddy from... well, I wasn't actually all that muddy, but that's not the point. Anyway, I decided to have a hot bath and relax. So that's what I did. And, then, I pigged out on junk food from the mini fridge that was cooked in the microwave (the food, not the mini fridge, dipswitches!). And then I relaxed in bed for a while. And then I realised that using and then for the start of every paragraph was, a) repetitive, and b) boring. And then I realised I didn't care.

And then I realised I still had to go to do some swimming, which I should be doing in ten minutes time. And then I stopped saying and then and started getting ready and trying to find my swimming costume.

The pool was freezing, when I jumped in. Well, not literally, but it was bloody cold! There was no one else around, since it was the big day (well night, really) and they were letting most people loose around the local villages. I didn't have a swimming instructor anymore- I'd marched up to Meryl after a month and told her I could swim fine without anyone else's help, and that I'd do the swimming by myself, rather than with a teacher I no longer needed. From then on, Meryl had set me targets, a certain amount of laps to do, until I could do them without a break, and stop without feeling exhausted.

So when I had swimming, I swam lengths alone in the pool. Dan sometimes came along, but I think the whole continuous swimming thing bores him. It probably makes me somewhat nerdy to admit that I don't mind it. Having said that, when no one's around, I tend to end up doing handstands under water, rather than actual lengths. It's breathing exercises, anyway.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself off the wall, starting a length in almost perfect front crawl. My aim for the next few weeks was seventy lengths. I could do fifty with something gaining on ease, but not quite that so far, yet.

I got to sixty before stopping and sitting on the side for a break. I caught my breath and looked around. There was still no one in the pool, so I was free to do whatever I wanted. I decided that sixty and seventy weren't all that far apart and called it a day.

I got out properly and went to go get changed. After all of that, it was only six o'clock.

* * *

><p>Chapter 28~ Emma<p>

The tent was much like the other one last night had been, accept, there was only two mission briefings inside. I glanced at Raine, who shrugged.

"Let's sit here, read them, then figure out what to do," She suggested.

We sat down and selected our own mission briefings. Raine and I read our own in silence, then swapped what we understood, and what we didn't. Working this way, we found that we had to collect a series of things from places around the lake, finding the location to the next at the item's collection point. Almost like a more serious version of orienteering. It was a good thing I can read maps amazingly well and that Raine seemed familiar with the land around us.

"There's just this one bit I don't get," Raine mumbled, pointing out a section of Russian to me. I glanced at my Chinese and read the paragraph through several times.

"I think... I think we've got to make sure we aren't seen by anyone, or that, if we are, they won't be able to recognise us," I mumbled thoughtfully.

Raine nodded, then glance at me, "It doesn't say we have a certain time to start, and it only says that the last collection item is our instructions for the final day, and that we should have gotten them and understood them by the final day, otherwise we're in a bit of trouble,"

"So, what do you think we should do?" I asked, thinking, "We could grab a shower and stay the night here, I suppose, then start in the morning..." I trailed off as Raine shook her head.

"The campsite doesn't let people out until seven thirty. I want us to set off at around six o'clock. And, anyway, the first item is only a couple of miles away, and it's only seven o'clock now. We could collect the first item, and make a start on the second item. It's light enough on a night to be able to walk until around half ten, then we can make camp where we are. That way, we don't have as much to do tomorrow. Think about it, Large has got tonight, tomorrow and the day after to get us to fail out of basic training. He's gonna make the next days as impossible as he possibly can. I want us to make the best of this situation,"

I sighed mournfully, and studied the tent. There was a small section that looked like it could be a kitchen, "Let's try and find some food to take with us, then, 'cos I'm absolutely starving,"

There was a few plastic containers with some food in, but Raine refused outright to let me eat anything, and was so stubborn I didn't feel I wanted to argue with her. We set off, sneaking around the barrier again, and walking swiftly down the road.

"Do you think we should go back and get the bikes?" Raine asked after a minute.

I shook my head, "If they haven't already been spotted, maybe, but even then, someone might have reported them as stolen. I don't think being caught riding two stolen bikes is gonna help us remain unnoticed, Raine," I pointed out.

Raine nodded, "Yeah. I knew that. Just wish we could drive or catch the bus," She sighed, checking her map again.

We walked for another hour, Raine reading the directions, me checking them against my map. It was getting dark as we finally reached the first item. It was hidden in a select part of the reeds, and we waded quietly through, trying to find the item. It was so small I nearly missed it, but my I kicked it accidentally, and it made an odd clinking noise, which stopped me in my tracks.

I picked it up and examined it. It was what looked like a key. To what, neither of us could guess. Wrapped around the key, was a slip of laminated paper, with a set of co ordinates on it. There weren't any directions this time. I pocketed the key and we decided where the co ordinates lead to. It was an area about seven miles away. I watched the sky carefully as we set off again.

"It's almost completely pitch black, Raine!" I hissed after a further half an hour.

We'd covered another mile or so, but both of us were exhausted, and couldn't see more than a couple of metres ahead of each other. Raine sighed and turned to me.

"I guess we've got far enough away, and we still need some light to pitch the tent," She mumbled.

"Some light?" I muttered to myself, "There's none here!"

"Shut up and get the tent up," Raine groaned, finishing securing the last guy rope. I slid in the last pole and unzipped the tent. The two of us climbed inside quickly, pulling our backpacks in too, and zipped the opening back up.

I sighed, "Well, I cannot _wait_ for basic training to be over,"

Raine grinned, "Me neither, let's hope we never have to see Mr Large's ugly mug again!"

I laughed, "Good night, Raine,"

"Yeah, you too," She yawned.

We both climbed into our sleeping bags, fully clothed and went to bed.

I woke up when Raine shook me awake. I groaned, feeling impossibly stiff and sore all over. My throat was parched and my stomach growls were probably scaring off all the wildlife within twenty miles of this place.

We had some of our water, and I 'pigged out' on the food we'd collected from the tent. In other words, I had a cheese sandwich and an apple.

We set off, my stomach still grumbling, and reached the next item-to-collect before eight o'clock, to my relief.

At eight, we sat down for a few minutes and I ate another apple while we discussed the route to the next item.

"They're messing with us so badly," I groaned, when Raine informed me we had to trek back the way we'd come for about five miles to get the next few things. I glanced down at our recently acquired lock gun and scowled.

Raine nodded, sighed, and got to her feet, "Come on, move it- we've got to get going," She told me, dragging me to my feet.

"What happened to you?" I sighed, "You've turned into a slave driver!"

"Just get going!" Raine ordered sharply, but she was smiling.

Eight hours later, though, neither of us were smiling. It was four o'clock on day 98 of basic training, we had walked backwards and forwards for around twenty miles, and collected five more stupid items. The two of us were fed up.

"This is ridiculous!" I snapped, as we realised that we were going to have to walk in pretty much the opposite direction, again. I felt like screaming. And then punching someone.

Raine sighed and slumped back down on the gravel by the lake shore, "C'mon, Emma. We'll give it a rest for half an hour, have lunch and continue in half an hour,"

Still massively frustrated, I sat down next to Raine and helped myself to food.

"Just think, Emma, one more day, then, it's over," Raine sighed.

"Yup, one more day," I agreed, gulping back some water, "And if we fail out, I'm quitting CHERUB to write books about secret teenage agents, who live their miserable lives doing inhumane training exercises and are picked on by an imbecile who enjoys people's pain,"

Raine grinned, "I'll be your publisher, and, while you're writing the book, I'll become a world famous musician and train myself expertly in the arts of self defence. Kinda like your sister did with hacking,"

I grinned at her, "Only, my sister seemed to have natural talent for it," I teased.

"Hey!" Raine snapped, but she grinned, too, "I'm perfectly good at self defence. You're just a bit better,"

I finished off my sandwich and turned to Raine, "So it's, what? Another three miles to the next item? That's not so bad, I suppose..."

Raine grinned, "Yeah, not too bad. I reckon we should quick-walk, just to make sure we get there within an hour,"

"No!" I cried, "Please, no!"

We set off again, Raine prodding me to get me moving.

"As soon as this is over, all us trainees will join together and beat Mr Large up with his own moves that he taught us during these one hundred torturous days," Raine promised.

I grinned back at her, "Yeah, just so long as none of us have to see him again afterwards,"

* * *

><p>ahhhh, the relief of finally finishing a couple of chapters and knowing that you have at least another... day before you have to scramble to write some more...<p>

*cough*review*cough*

until next time! :D


	9. Birthdays, You've Gotta Love 'Em

HEY! I'M BAAACK! I'M NOT DEAD!

I know, I know, you're all appalled (is that how you spell it?) that I haven't posted in about three weeks, and the first thing I say is 'Hey' even if it is in capital letters, it's not good enough! Well... I had exams... (I think I used that excuse already...) and then, I had the end of term but now... I'M FREEE! (For the rest of the summer, anyway) so I should post sooner now... should...

If you think I'm dead, just review and tell me to start writting and stop being lazy (heh heh heh)

No, I'm joking! I will post sooner though.

Although I might not if I'm on holiday...

But if I am I will write lots...

Probably...

Ok, ok, I relent! Here it is :D

* * *

><p>Chapter 29~Emma<p>

It was almost eight o'clock in the evening, by the time we'd finally found our mission briefings, and the two of us (as you might have guessed) were incredibly fed up and very tired.

We sat leaning on a tree trunk in the middle of nowhere, trying to figure out our briefings. My whole body felt stiff and sore and just generally horrible, from... three (is it only three?) days of almost solid walking.

"So... we've got to walk some more..." Raine translated into vague English. I groaned.

"Then we've... got the final challenge... That isn't much to do..." She mumbled.

"The final challenge isn't _much_?" I asked despairingly.

Raine shrugged, "Not really. When you think about it, all we've got to do is walk another fifteen miles, and get to a certain place by..." She rechecked her mission briefing and groaned.

"What?" I asked, checking my mission briefing, "What is it?"

Raine looked at me miserably, "I knew it was too easy to just walk fifteen miles!" She sighed, "We've got to have walked the fifteen miles and arrive at the checkpoint by seven. In the morning. Heck, that isn't even the final challenge! It says that when we get there we'll get the instructions for the final challenge!"

I looked at her, then at my mission briefing, then back at her.

"I _hate_ Mr Large, now. It's my birthday tomorrow, for God's sake!" I growled.

Raine smiled, "Maybe he overheard our plan," She told me, jokingly.

I thought for a moment, "That would probably not be so good for us, then,"

Raine looked at me, "Did you hear about that girl who whacked him over the head with a spade? I wish I'd been there!"

I closed my eyes, imagining it, "Yeah, I wish I had been, too," We sat in silence for a few minutes, relaxing, then I turned to Raine, "How long do you reckon it'll take for us to walk fifteen miles?"

Raine frowned, "About an hour and a half?" Raine guessed, "A bit more?"

I bit my lip, "Let's walk for another hour, then get some sleep. We can get up even earlier than normal and walk the rest in the morning," I groaned at the thought.

"I suppose so," Raine mumbled, hauling herself to her feet. She helped me up and we set off, following her directions again, moaning about blistered feet and cramped legs.

After an hour, we staggered to a stop, and put out the tent, now yawning and rubbing our eyes rather than complaining. We crawled inside, and Raine set an alarm for five o'clock, so we could 'get there in plenty of time'. I hated having Raine as the voice of reason- she was always reasonable about things. It was easier with my sister being the voice, because any of her reasons were usually incredibly, amazingly stupid and pointless.

When I woke up (or Raine's alarm woke me up) it was that sort of dark, but almost light outside that you get when it's almost a humane time to get up at on a morning. I sat up rubbing sleep out of my eyes, switched on a torch and attached it to a hook on the top of the tent, creating a light. Then, I grabbed some food from our backpacks to eat. It was the last day of Basic Training. I wasn't exactly going to starve myself if I wasn't able to eat anything for the rest of the day. And anyway, breakfast _is_ the most important meal of the day.

Raine looked at me shyly, and held out a slightly battered box wrapped in paper.

"Hey, happy birthday, Emma. Sorry it isn't much," She said nervously.

I smiled and hugged her, "Thanks, Raine!"

I took the box off her and carefully took off the paper, and looked in the box. Inside, nestled perfectly on the cushion was a beautiful bracelet, with a small, clear, light-blue stone in the middle of it. Aquamarine.

Raine bit her lip anxiously, "I looked some stuff up on this website. According to the website, Aquamarine is the birthstone for March,"

I looked at her, in awe of the amazing bracelet, "Raine, it's wonderful! It's awesome!" I told her, hugging her tightly, "Thanks, Raine,"

She smiled back, her usual not-used-to-attention self. I looked back at the box, and discovered a small square of paper with information about the stone on it;

A stone of courage and serenity. The ancients saw this as a stone of courage and felt that carrying it would help them return safe and prosperous from all sea voyages.

Beads of aquamarine have been found in ancient Egyptian mummy pits. It is held in quite high regard in the East as the Stone of the Seer and Mystic, a gemstone that imparts purity to the wearer, as well as encouraging the gentle nature and personality in the wearer. It is a symbol of peace.

"A typical piece of not-needed-to-know information," I scrunched up my nose as I read the mummy pit part, "They give you lots of lovely information, then tell you it was found in mummy pits. Ugh!"

Raine laughed at me, and stood up, "Come on, we need to get going," She told me sternly. I slipped the box back into my backpack, making sure it was safe.

We repacked the tent- hopefully for the last time- and sorted ourselves out. Raine wanted to make sure we were ready for anything today. No one wanted to drop out on the last day. Eventually, we set off. I felt a mixture of nervousness at what the final dreaded challenge would be, amazed that I'd made it so far and relief that, either way, after today, it would _finally_ be over.

We talked as we walked, just like any other day. We'd only been here a few days, yet it felt like a routine- all the waking up early and doing nothing but walking all day. I couldn't believe that today was the final day of Basic Training. It seemed too unreal.

"So what do you think we'll have to do?" Raine asked me quietly, not wanting to break the fragile silence around us.

I shrugged, "It could be anything, really, couldn't it?"

"Yeah. I hope it's easy," Raine sighed.

I looked at her, "This is Basic Training. Nothing is easy,"

"You've got that right!" A voice snapped from behind us.

We whirled around, and spotted in the gloom and dark of early morning, two policemen.

"We've been tracking you two kids for the past three days! Trespassing on private property. Stealing bikes out of people's garden's. You two are on the run, aren't you?" One of them demanded.

"Well we are now, aren't we?" I growled, realising that Large probably set this up to make sure we couldn't get to our checkpoint in time.

"You're under arrest until further notice!" The other snapped.

Raine looked at me, "If we go with them, we'll never get free in time to get to the final challenge,"

I shrugged, "So we run off then?" I asked as the two policemen advanced.

Raine grabbed a pen, and circled something on my borrowed mission briefing, then shoved it back at me, "Meet me at that place in fifteen minutes. If we split up, it'll be harder to find us," She hissed, then shot off to the left.

I glanced at her then at the policemen, "See ya!" I muttered, and darted in the opposite direction to Raine.

The policeman split up, one following Raine, one following me. I figured that, since I had no clue when my fifteen minutes were up, I'd just have to run until I was about seventy percent sure that I'd lost the guy, and find out where the hell I was supposed to be meeting Raine.

I glanced back and ran faster.

* * *

><p>Chapter 30<p>

Simon knocked on the door to the 'meeting room'.

"Come in!" Fred yelled from inside the room.

Simon opened the door and walked in, taking a seat behind the desk Fred had made out of random stuff. Fred was really trying to be serious. The office, the plans, the double agent business. The trouble with a double agent, Simon glared, was that you could never be completely sure they were on the same side as you. They could always be double crossing you. Feeding you the wrong information. Giving out your plans to your enemies.

Simon knew that Fred was using another double agent- someone else here was also working at MI6. He wasn't sure who, only that it was one of the four others. It was definitely not Fred, so it was either Francis or Franco. He wasn't allowed to know who it was, in case he was caught and tortured, but that didn't stop him from trying to find out. Everyone here was always out though, planning or being a double agent somewhere.

Fred looked up, "Got any more information, Simon? Any idea if they're going to act on us soon?"

Simon gritted his teeth. It annoyed him that the other double agent had managed to get a better source of information than him. Whenever there was a meeting, they always found a lot more information than he'd heard about.

"You know I don't get that much information. I'm just the odd guy who everyone talks to when they pass me in the corridors. I just get the 'knows-where-everyone-is' reputation. I pick stuff up from people's conversations, but most of the topics are on the trail in America. There's not a lot of gossip about a prison in Manchester. I saw Kenedy a few days ago, actually. But then, I saw Johnson and Markwell in the same day. I reckon it was just a busy day in the office,"

Fred nodded, "You might not get the gossip about the break in on the prison, but one day, Simon, it'll be you who we rely on for information, so don't let anyone find out your real identity," He cautioned.

Simon nodded, "I know, I know," He sighed.

Fred looked at him, "Why did you want to see me anyway?"

Simon sucked in a deep breath, "I overheard Commander Karp talking. It sounds as if he's going to be taking a big role in their plan," Simon told Fred, a tad annoyed that it was the best information he could offer.

Fred nodded, "Thank you, Simon. I'm sure that will be very useful to consider when we're planning," He said appreciatively.

Simon scowled at the floor and left the room feeling put off. He needed to find some decent information. He didn't want to be out done by anyone else. He needed to find out who that second double agent was, or else...

Francis stepped out of Commander Karp's office, having had an important meeting all morning, he headed straight to the lunch hall. As he did, he allowed himself to smile a bit. Everything was going to plan. He'd gotten Karp right where he wanted him to be.

Francis sometimes felt guilty, manipulating Commander Karp, but he decided that it was more important to get everything done and sorted than to worry about being a manipulative dick-head.

He shook his head dismissively and grabbed some lunch.

* * *

><p>Chapter 31~Anna<p>

I groaned as I took the lift downstairs early the next morning. It was Sunday, and I'd spent all day yesterday lazing around doing nothing. Supposedly, I had to do my laps, lengths and karate workouts everyday still. And yet this is still called a holiday. And this is the typical way to start your birthday. Better than Emma, though- starting with the last day of BT...

I checked my watch and scowled. I'd been woken by annoying birds squawking right outside my window at about six, and I hadn't been able to sleep since, no matter how much I swore and cussed at the birds. It was now quarter to seven, and I'd given up. I sighed as the lift shuddered down the shaft to the ground floor. At first, being here, it amused me that a place so darn obsessed with fitness had a lift in the main building. Then I saw a poor twelve year old with a suitcase twice the size of her having to carry a suitcase down five floors because the lift broke down. Poor sap.

The lift doors finally opened, and I walked briskly outside, despite my protesting stomach. I wasn't gonna have the twenty laps hanging over me all day- I wanted them over and done with.

When I'd first got here, I could already run pretty far easily. So Meryl challenged me to run fifteen out of my twenty miles. I stopped after about four and told her to get real. Dan had rolled his eyes at me and helped me work out the system. I jogged the first lap, and then ran the next four. I walked the next two, jogged the next three and ran another four laps. Then I call it quits and hope Meryl never finds out.

No, I'm joking. He just told me to repeat the... whatever it was until I'd done twenty laps. Helpful, since I usually lost count after five laps.

I warmed up quickly, hating the weather for being so foggy and gloomy this morning and started my laps. As I did, I counted. To a hundred. And stopped.

"Holy fucking hell! Emma's freaking back today!" I shouted aloud.

I glanced around. No one was out. Well, that was normal- who the fuck gets up at seven in the morning if they can help it?

I abandoned my laps right there (who cares if I only did sixteen?) and went to go find Gabby.

She was up already, and had just been about to go out to find me.

"Happy Birthday! Emma's back today!" She squealed, running up to me.

"Thanks, and I know. She's gonna start making me actually do my homework..." I grinned.

"You should have been doing that anyway! But who cares! She's back today!" Gabby tried to tell me off, but failed, since she was too excited, "You're getting given your present together, so you'll have to wait until she gets back!" Gabby told me seriously.

I saluted mockingly, "Yes, Si... Miss... Madam... Mrs... Whatever they call you!" Gabby grinned at me and rolled her eyes. I smiled back "Come on! Let's go to my room! We can go bug Arron until he replies to our emails!" I told Gabby, grabbing her hand and sprinting back towards the main building.

Thanks to being at CHERUB for just over three months, Gabby could easily keep up with me as we ran through the building. She was about six years younger than me, and yet by the time she was my age, she'd be twice as fit. I remembered the first time I'd complained to Dan about it. Dan had told me that most people didn't get into CHERUB after the age of thirteen, and even then, that was an unusual age, and you had to look quite young, or something. The puzzle hadn't taken that long to figure out. I _was _amazing at hacking, and both Emma and I were clever, healthy, and reasonably fit.

Then there was the trump card. We could help other people, by being spies, whilst remaining hidden from anyone who might want to kidnap us. Of course, as I pointed out to Dan, they already knew about CHERUB, so it was more down to a hidden-in-plain-sight sort of idea.

Dan had told me everything that had happened from his point of view, including his, Andrew's and Jeremy's little standoff at that stupid school. Emma and I had been metres away getting _cutlery_ for crying out loud! Talk about frustrating! I mean, knocked unconscious, tied up, being held back by ninja's attacking you in a random classroom, any of those are decent excuses for missing a standoff, but getting _cutlery_? Why did I always end up with the uncool stuff like getting cutlery, being kidnapped, getting multiple lacerations in my leg (all my own fault, and no, I have no clue what multiple, or lacerations means or is... I just heard a doctor say it), being shot and being the hysterical idiot that had to be sedated every time a family member goes missing or 'dies'.

But, as Dan frequently reminds me, I wasn't a secret agent then, was I? And as Andrew frequently reminds us both, I'm still not now. And as I frequently remind him, I can still punch like a secret agent. But enough of frequent reminders.

I logged into my emails, back in my room with Gabby. Arron was already online.

_Arron? Arrrooooonnnnn? Hellloooooo? Are u doing hw or sumthing? Isn't it the Easter holidays for you yet? It's my birthday! Emma's back today! Hellloooooo? _I typed.

_Calm down Anna! Sheesh! I just got up!_

_That's nice, but today's a busy day, Arron!_

_Not for you- it's your school holidays! You've probably spent the last few days sleeping! I've still got to go to school! I'm lucky my foster parents managed to persuade the head to let me off so I could come here for the afternoon. Apparently I've 'had enough time off school from family business already'. Referring, of course, to the time I was kidnapped. Little does he know I would've preferred being at school so much more..._

Gabby seemed unsettled by the lead in the conversation- she never liked it when anyone mentioned what had happened last year- but it just seemed to keep coming up with Arron and me. Dan tells me it's just 'cos I never let drastic things like being kidnapped bring me down. Neither of us knows why Arron seems fine. But then, he was weird to begin with, maybe the kidnapping sorted his head out, rather than messing it up. Unfortunately, Andrew and Dan (agreeing, for once) both agreed that the same could be said about me.

_Don't you like school? I thought you went out with school at least five times a week and started studying in all your free time, just to be near to school._

_... -_- shut up, Anna..._

_Oh, btw, Gabby's here, she says 'hi' or something..._

_Hi, Gabby, how are you?_

_Charming, this is! DO I NEED TO REMIND YOU IT'S __**MY**__ BIRTHDAY?_I typed mockingly.

_No, but it's not just yours- it's Emma's too_

_... -_- I'll leave you and Gabby to discuss stuff. Oh! Someone's knocking at the door! I see my attention is wanted more somewhere else! I leave this final point, so that everyone can see I said it! GABBY DON'T YOU DARE CHANGE THE FONT! _I typed, using capital letters, simply because I enjoy using capital letters.

I got up and let Gabby sit down. She changed the font immediately and typed;

_Hi Arron, how are you? Anna's off to go kiss Dan or something. It's Dan at the door, by the way :D_

I gritted my teeth, "I hate little sisters sometimes," I growled in her direction.

"I love you to, Anna," Gabby said cheerfully, still typing to Arron.

"I can feel the affection trying to strangle me!" I muttered, opening the door.

It was Dan, just as Gabby had predicted.

"Hiya! What's up with you?" I asked- Dan had been really busy with his mission, all yesterday, so I hadn't had more than a five minute chat with him.

"Oh, nothing much. I just came to see if you were awake in there. There was intense typing coming from your room, and I thought I'd better check it out.

I rolled my eyes, "I was arguing with my brother. He needs a life," I sighed, "Badly,"

Dan grinned at me, as I let him into the room. We sat down on the bed, since Gabby had nicked off with the seat by the desk.

"Hey, Arron says Happy Birthday to you, Anna," Gabby called out.

"Ask him why the hell he didn't just tell me that when I was talking to him!" I sighed, exasperated.

"Oh, apparently he just remembered," Gabby snorted.

"Oh come on! I was telling him about every three seconds! When he gets here I'm gonna freaking strangle him!" I growled.

I glanced at Dan, who was wearing his navy CHERUB t-shirt, instead of casual clothes that we were allowed to wear on weekends and during holidays.

"What's with your navy t-shirt?" I asked curiously.

Dan shrugged, "Couldn't find anything else to wear,"

"That," I told him, "Is the most pathetic excuse I have ever heard!"

"Hey! It's true!" Dan protested.

Just then, someone else knocked on my door. I rolled my eyes at Dan and went to open it. It was Elizabeth, dragging Tom, Liam and Andrew inside.

"Someone had to round up the boys, since _you_ couldn't be bothered!" She snapped at Dan, "And I'm still not talking to Liam!"

I muffled a laugh as Liam glared at me.

"I can't believe this! You just refuse to admit that it was all in your room anyway! I didn't touch any of it!" Liam protested.

By now, Tom and Dan seemed to be putting two and two together and realising that it was me, not Liam who had hidden Elizabeth's stuff. The two of them didn't seem in any hurry to correct Elizabeth and prove Liam innocent. I think Andrew was just being slow.

"Don't lie! You even sent me a freaking email because you couldn't tell me face-to-face you coward!" Elizabeth yelled, whacking him in the arm.

Tom, Dan and I worked harder to suppress our laughter.

"I told you! It was Anna!" Liam yelped, dodging Elizabeth.

I tried to look innocent and not laugh as Elizabeth, Andrew and Liam looked at me cautiously. Dan and Tom were still laughing.

I shrugged, "I didn't touch any of Elizabeth's stuff! Why would I? I don't need any other shoes, and I hate makeup,"

"Oh no! You did not just say that!" Elizabeth screeched, forgetting- temporarily- about Liam, "How can you not wear makeup?"

"How can you? It's itchy and makes me feel like a marshmallow,"

"Why is everyone always against me?" Elizabeth sighed, flopping on my bed.

"Shut up guys! I'm trying to talk to Arron!" Gabby snapped.

Everyone but Elizabeth laughed.

* * *

><p>So, I hope you enjoyed it and that you enjoy you're summer! (because I just had to say that :D)<p>


	10. Killing Mr Large! NOT REALLY!

I had excuses this time- MY INERNET BROKE! IT WAS SOOOOOO DEPERSSING! (actually, it's still broken, I'm just using the next door neighbours... :D)

* * *

><p>Chapter 32~Emma<p>

I lost the policeman in fields, ducking down behind the long grass and crawling steadily and as quietly as I could away. It wasn't the perfect spy get away, but at least I wasn't in jail. When, after about seven minutes, I was sure no one was around, I got out a small torch, and tried to figure out where I was, and where I was supposed to meet Raine. It took me a few seconds, but as soon as I was sure, I set off jogging in the right direction, hoping that I wasn't going to be late.

I couldn't see Raine, when I reached our meeting point- a small (and I mean, _small_) hill in the middle of nowhere. I glanced around, not wanting to use my torch, feeling exposed.

"Raine?" I hissed, trying to spot her in the darkness. No reply.

I bit my lip, trying to decide what to do. Where was Raine? I thought _I'd_ been late, so why hadn't she been here to? We hadn't agreed what to do if one of us didn't turn up. Maybe she'd gone on ahead, thinking I'd been caught. I felt a moment of panic and insecurity at the thought, then I shook myself. Raine wouldn't desert me, just like I wouldn't desert her.

So I sat down and waited, glancing anxiously around, hoping to see at least someone. I'd never noticed it before, having always been with Raine when we were travelling in the dark, or even the half-light of an evening, or early morning, but now, all by myself, I felt afraid. What would happen if Raine didn't show? What would happen if she _did_ but I'd already left? I glanced up at the sun, cursing my luck and not having anything to tell the time with, and decided I'd wait as long as what I thought was half an hour, then I'd have to get going to make up for lost time.

I fidgeted, even more nervous, now that I had a deadline that Raine wasn't going to show. Time seemed to have sped up, but slowed down simultaneously. I was getting desperate by the time I thought twenty minutes had passed. But then I heard light footsteps, and heavy breathing, behind me, and I turned, grinning, to find an out of breath, extremely annoyed Raine.

"Go damn police!" She spat, catching her breath, "He just wouldn't get lost! I had to run him three times around the same field before I lost him! And then your police guy turned up, and I had both of them on my tail!" She panted.

I handed her my water bottle, relieved that she'd made it, and I hadn't had to leave her behind. Raine smiled, and took a massive gulp, then handed it back. She glanced at her map- which she must've been holding for quite a while, and looked around, checking where we were. It was light enough that she could do both with ease.

"We've got to get going, since we're running late now," Raine sighed, getting up, groaning, "Plus I'm not sure I completely lost those idiots! Come on! We can run for about ten minutes," She sighed, helping me up.

"This grey t-shirt so better be worth it!" I growled.

Raine grinned at me, "I'm sure it is, but you've got to get there, first," She told me, shoving me forward and starting to run.

I was really starting to hate using my legs. Right now, I would give anything for a day of lying in bed doing nothing. It was my birthday, for crying out loud!

We kept up the pace for a long time, Raine keeping us on track with the occasional altering of direction. Finally, Raine stopped us.

"We should be at the checkpoint any minute now," She told me, checking her watch, "It's about quarter to seven now, so we have enough time to get there," She added.

We set off again, walking. Now that we were son near to the end, all I could feel was nerves. Neither of us felt much like talking, either. When we spotted a group of figures, up ahead, we both sped up.

"Wow. I don't know whether to be terrified, or jumping for joy," Raine mumbled.

I nodded in agreement as we got closer to the group.

"We're the last ones," Raine noted thoughtfully.

"Perhaps they didn't have police trouble?" I asked, "Or maybe they just remembered to stay low and not steal bicycles,"

Raine gave a faint laugh. Up ahead,I could see Lilly and Jonah waving at us. Tess and Zack seemed to be arguing, but that wasn't a rare sight, since the two of them had been partners for a while now. I wondered what would've happened if Anna had been my partner for the whole of Basic Training. Either we would have done brilliantly, or we would've argued over _everything_.

Large was still watching his clock, determined to get us out, to the very end.

Seeing that, it was all I could do to stop myself running there. What if Large really _did_ get us out, even if it was only by a minute? Zack was now peering over Large's shoulder, and Smoke and Speaks were too bust talking to tell him off.

"You've got ten minutes left, calm down you two!" He yelled, making Large jump in surprise, and yell at him. The others laughed.

Raine and I finally reached them, and sat down on the ground next to Lilly and Jonah. Behind us, I realised, was a road, and, about twenty metres down the road there was a minibus- the same on we'd used to get here.

Large stood up straight and glared at us, "Well, it seems you all managed to get here before seven o'clock," He barked, "So we will proceed to the f-"

"Yeah, we know, the 'final challenge'," Zack said mockingly, "What's all the fuss about it?"

Large gritted his teeth, but refrained from making Zack do push ups, "This is the ultimate test! We need to know you can work hard under pressure, think logically and use the resources around you to get a job done within a very short amount of time,"

"Wasn't that what these past few days out here in the wilderness of wherever-the-heck-we-are was _supposed_ to be _about_?" Zack demanded, and, although Zack was a big-headed idiot who thought too much of himself for his own good, I had to agree with him.

Large refused to acknowledge Zack's question, and chucked our mission briefings at us, before stomping off to join Speaks and Smoke. Apparently, we could work together to figure out what we were supposed to be doing.

Zack and Tess sat down at opposite side of our group, clearly not speaking to each other now that it wasn't depending on their survival.

"I'm beginning to _hate_ mission briefings!" Snapped Tess.

Jonah shrugged, "I don't see why they didn't just give us it all in one," He sighed.

"Because we would've just walked straight to this checkpoint, rather than doing all that ridiculous walking, and then there would've been much less chance of us failing, wouldn't there!" Zack pointed out tetchily.

Raine, Lilly and I moved to one side, while Tess and Jonah argued with Zack. By the time the three of them had finished, we'd pretty much guessed what we had to do.

"Well... that's good..." I mumbled to myself.

"Are you kidding me? The place is full of massive mansions! It's gonna take us forever!" Raine moaned.

Lilly raised her eyebrow, "I wouldn't say they're _massive_, but the houses _are_ pretty big,"

"What is?" Tess asked curiously, wandering away from Jonah and Zack, who were now trying to see who was better at doing push ups.

"The 'final challenge'," Lilly sighed.

"Yeah... um... what have we got to do again? Only, I wasn't really listening before..." Tess edged.

Raine rolled her eyes, "Basically, we've got to get to this village a few miles away and somewhere in the village our gray t-shirts are hidden. We've got to search the whole village until we've found all six t-shirts,"

"And that's hard because...?" Tess prompted.

"Um... hello? The _law_? We'll be breaking and entering every house in a village full massive houses, lived in by people who stay at home all day. If we get arrested, we're screwed. Plus, from the moment we get there, we only have an hour to search the whole place," Lilly waved her hands around in the air to emphasise the point.

"I thought you said the houses weren't that big," Raine grinned teasingly.

Lilly waved her hand again, in a more dismissive manner, "When trying to convince someone, exaggeration helps,"

"How many houses?" I asked, interrupting them, trying to figure out how many houses we would have to look through, and how much time we'd have in each.

Raine and Lilly (who both seemed to have been there) frowned, "I suppose about... fifty or sixty houses," Lilly guessed.

Raine nodded, "Yeah, about fifty," She told me, then, guessing what I was trying to work out, added, "Each with over ten, fifteen rooms. This is where all the rich old biddies in the surrounding area retire to,"

I did the maths. It didn't look too pretty, "That's like, eighty odd rooms, at the least, each, having to break and enter the house without getting caught! That's not even a minute to search each room!"

Zack and Jonah had overheard the last part, "We're screwed," Zack muttered.

Raine shook her head, "Put it this way -don't bother to clean up after yourself. You look through the rooms and go. It doesn't matter what sort of a mess you leave behind- at least you'll save time. As for getting in, they're rich, the majority of them are old. They'll be slow, a lot of them partially deaf, and probably won't be able to reach you before you've hidden or gotten out. If they call the police, well, the village _is_ in the middle of nowhere, so, hopefully, they won't turn up until too late,"

"None of this helps, because we still have less than a minute to look at each room!" Zack exclaimed.

Lilly shook her head, "We might get lucky. We might not have to search all the houses to get the t-shirts, and some of the houses will be empty. At least one family will be away on a holiday or something,"

I glanced down at her mission briefing, and cracked a smile. I opened my backpack and delved inside.

"Remember what we spent all yesterday doing, guys?" I asked, fishing out a key and a lock gun.

* * *

><p>Chapter 33~Emma<p>

We reached the village by half eight, and spent the next half hour arguing on what to do next. Large, Mr Speaks and Miss Smoke had beaten us there (since they had a minibus and all). The subject of our debate was, well, obvious, actually.

"We should make a plan of the houses, so that we can give each of us a section to search, and cross of each house we've done!" Tess objected.

"We don't need one! Jonah and Lilly are piecing together one now out of all the pieces of paper they collected!" Zack growled

"Yeah, because _one_ is gonna be all we need, isn't it?" Tess snarled back at him.

"Shut it, you guys! I don't think we desperately need more plans right now. We just need a main one to give everyone their set of houses to search. Right now, one of you two should probably be watching Large, Speaks and Smoke to see if they give anything away. And not that obviously, Zack!" Jonah sighed.

"Tess, you watch Large and co, Zack, you keep an eye on the houses, see what information you can find. I don't know what information, I want, Zack, just do it!" Lilly snapped, anticipating Zack's question. Jonah and Lilly went back to sorting through the stuff we'd all collected, and putting together their plan- the majority of the items they'd had to collect were just scraps of paper, but we'd looked over them in a vain hope of finding a clue, and realised they were a plan of some houses. We were counting on it being the plan of the houses from the village.

Raine and I had been left to come up with the most effective way of using the equipment and finding all six t-shirts.

"You know," I began, turning back to Raine, "It never says whether we had to do it as a group, or separately. We could each do a separate hour, and have six hours overall to search," Raine shook her head, and I realised, "We'd still have the same amount to search, and not enough time. This sucks."

Jonah turned to us and handed the first half of a sheet of paper.

"Basic house plan," He explained seeing our confused faces.

I looked at it and frowned, "If we were Large, where would we hide a bunch of t-shirts in a house..."

Raine picked up a pen and crossed out the bathrooms, "Not there. Everyone needs to go to the bathroom, and we're guessing these people have no clue about the hidden t-shirts in their house. Large wouldn't want them finding a gray t-shirt with CHERUB written on it, would he?"

I took the pen and plan off her, and crossed out any porches, "The same principle- too many people could use it, and find them,"

Raine bit her lip, "So where next?"

I frowned, "He might try to hide it in with normal clothes?"

Raine shook her head, "It's a good idea, and Large would do it, but, again, it might be found. Wherever they're hidden, they have to be in places that are not easy to find, yet easy to access without being noticed. Remember, Large is _trying_ to catch us out. It may be part of his job to make our lives hard, but he is also _trying_ to make us lose, because he enjoys to, so he'll want to be able to get any t-shirts we might not find, back, before anyone finds them,"

Lilly bent over our shoulders and nodded in approval, "You guys are doing good," She told us, "But we've all forgotten one vital place they could be,"

"What?" Raine and I demanded.

Lilly grinned wryly, "The garden. They might have sheds, too. The gardens are easy to access without being noticed, not where you would've thought to look in the first place. It's early spring, so not that many people are out in their gardens, yet,"

"Drat..." I scowled.

"Ditto," Raine sighed.

"Found anything useful in our stuff?" I asked Lilly, following her back to Jonah to discover what they'd been up to. Raine went to see Tess and Zack.

Jonah looked up and grinned, "I've left the plan, for now, and I'm looking through all the stuff. You're skeleton key and lock gun should come in handy, before we look at anything else,"

I looked at what Tess and Zack had found. There was a long overcoat, a clipboard, a black, curly wig, glasses, a fake moustache, a fake beard, a _suit_ and a notepad.

A small part of me, deep down inside, was in awe of how much Tess and Zack had managed to lug here. A _suit_! I would've chucked it rather than lug it along with me!

"Maybe..." I said thoughtfully, "Maybe Large didn't hide the t-shirts without anyone noticing. Maybe he made sure they all knew he was in their house,"

Lilly and Jonah looked at me, "What do you mean?"

"Well, why do we have a disguise? Maybe Large got people to pretend to be plumbers, electricians, anything, and hid the t-shirts at the same time. Look, Raine and I have been thinking. It never says on the mission briefing that we can't have separate hours. All it says is that when you enter the village, your hour starts, so one of us could go in, search an hour, go, then the next person, then the next. That wouldn't work though, because you'd still have the same amount of rooms to search in the same amount of time. However, if, say, two of you went in, in disguise and asked everyone if someone had been round to their house recently to check on their plumbing, electricity, etcetera, and if about six people have, then we'd know that those were the six houses we'd have to search, and the other four could go, search them and find the t-shirts. If you don't get anything worthwhile, then you can just search anyway, 'cos no one can think of a better plan and we're screwed," I said light-heartedly.

Lilly and Jonah blinked at the sheer overload of information, then seemed to get back together, "Oh, yeah, that's a great idea!" Lilly grinned.

Jonah nodded, "It needs some working on. The first group might have to be more than two, if we're going to knock on the door of sixty houses in sixty minutes, but, yeah, it could work!"

Raine and Zack came over, grinning, Tess trailing behind, bored.

"I was just telling Zack about your idea with the gardens, Lilly," Raine started, "And Zack told me it was funny, 'cos he'd spotted a watering can and some weed killer in the boot of the minibus, and he'd overheard Speaks complaining about hay fever. We reckon that they've gone in disguise as gardeners and-"

"Yes! You four are brilliant!" Jonah cheered, hugging Raine, Zack, Lilly and I, "Lilly for thinking about the gardens, Raine for telling Zack, Zack for spotting the watering can and weed killer, and Emma for thinking up a plan!"

Tess snorted, "Yeah, don't thank my brother- it'll get to his head. Anyway, check this out," She grinned pointing at the houses, "What none of you guys have been thinking about seriously, is the security cameras that all rich people have. The alarms, the defences, yada yada yada," She went on, "Whereas _I_, have single-handedly, found a way to get passed all of them, and get _into_ the garden. It should be the same with all of the houses. It is with everyone of them on this street," She told us, pointing smugly back at the houses.

Zack rolled his eyes, "You _had_ to steal the limelight!"

Tess rolled her eyes back at him, "I had to _rescue_ it from _you_,"

"People, people, you're all amazing," Jonah grinned.

"Let's get this done," I stepped back and cracked my knuckles.

We decided to have Zack and Jonah going around asking everyone. Zack, because he was the oldest guy, Jonah because he was, well, the only other guy, and overcoats and moustaches just don't work on girls. Plus Jonah was a charismatic guy, and would get on fine with anyone who he met. The only problem was, well, the _age_. I supposed they'd look older with the suit and moustaches. They'd probably look like very small men. Even though both of them were tall for their age.

Lilly was doing Jonah's beard, and Raine was teaching Zack how to act like a nice person, since Tess had given up. Ten minutes later, they were ready.

"Ok, you've got about thirty to do, each. Zack, you take the notebook. Write the house number, name distinguishing features, whatever," Raine instructed him, "Jonah, take the clipboard, do the same. If one of you hasn't done all of their thirty houses and you have, just do some of theirs,"

"Yeah, we know," Zack sighed impatiently, fiddling with the suit.

"Oi! Don't use that tone on anyone you talk to!" Raine snapped at him.

Zack raised his hands in surrender and backed off slightly. Large was waiting with a stop watch, glaring at us for being so clever and not being completely stumped.

"See you in an hour," Jonah told us, grinning, and the two of them headed off.

With nothing else to do, the four of us had another look through the stuff we had. Raine, grinning, produced a pair of fold-away clippers that we'd had to collect. Lilly rolled her eyes, and handed us one of the walkie-talkies we'd also collected. There was only two, so we'd be splitting up into two groups and using one in each group, so we could contact each other if we needed to. Then Tess picked up a tin of shoe polish, and scrunched up her nose.

"Were they expecting us to go in the middle of the night, and paint our faces with _this_?" She asked.

I grabbed the shoe polish off her, "I believe they're giving us a hint; our shoes are dirty," I grinned.

"We don't even _have_ to polish our shoes! They're practically trainers! You can't polish trainers!"

We sat and waited for Jonah and Zack to return. I prayed long and hard that my idea wasn't a complete fail, and that there was actually t-shirts hidden in people's garden.

Finally, Jonah and Zack came back, grinning.

"You were right!" Zack told me, "I had four people, who said they'd been offered a free gardening session. A group of six or seven people came and got rid of the weeds in her garden and planted a few new flowers in, as well. They said they were doing it for the neighbourhood. They were supposedly doing this whole community thing, you know, going round mowing people's lawns. Jonah had two people, exactly the same,"

I grinned, "That's great!"

Raine and Lilly were fitting the sheets of information into their pockets –Raine and I would be working together on Jonah's information, and Tess and Lilly on Zack's.

"We're going to go now, and get it over and done with- we've been watching the houses while you've been out- it's almost eleven now, and most people, if they go to work, are out now. Those who aren't are probably either still in bed, have gone out to see friends or are watching TV, not looking out of the window at their garden,"

Jonah nodded and Zack continued grinning like an idiot, "We'll see _you_ in an hour," Jonah told us, as we hurried off, Large, once again, waiting for us with a stop watch.

We split up immediately, and Raine and I checked where we were supposed to be going first. Number 15 Cobbler Street. In the hour we'd been waiting, Lilly had gone over the security stuff with us, so we knew how to dodge the cameras and alarms. The only unfortunate problem; not only were the houses massive, so were the gardens.

We checked the main flower beds, where the new flowers had been planted, then moved down, looking in the trees, until we spotted a corner of grey, wrapped in plastic, on top of a statue. We'd found our first t-shirt. I climbed up, while Raine kept a lookout. I jumped back down again, once I'd gotten it and grinned at Raine.

"One down, one to go!"

Our next and, well, final place, was 3 Benjalin Road. We snuck past security again, with ease, but we couldn't find the next t-shirt anywhere. It'd taken us long enough to get to both of the houses, and the first t-short hadn't been the quickest of finds. I knew we were running out of time. The others had already used walkie-talkie to tell us that they'd just found the fourth t-shirt, and were heading over to help us. I bit my lip, searching desperately, and noticed something plasticy bobbing in the fountain, at the bottom of the garden.

"Raine?" I called quietly.

"Yeah,"

"We've finished Basic Training," I told her grinning.

Raine stepped forward and fished out a grey t-shirt, wrapped in plastic to keep it clean and dry, "Finally,"

* * *

><p>THE END! (of Emma's Basic Training, anyway)<p> 


	11. The Computer Eating Review Button!

(do you remember the the story title? It's coming back to haunt yooouuuuuu!) (if not, I think it's on chapter... something or other the to be continued one... at the bottom. If you really can be bothered. I can't be...)

* * *

><p>Chapter 34~Anna<p>

I jiggled my leg impatiently, glancing at the clock and scowling every few minutes. Arron had arrived just after lunch. Emma had rung us about an hour ago, using a girl called Raine's phone. She had finished Basic Training and was going to get here around three in the afternoon. Gabby and Arron had _completely_ monopolized the phone call. _I_ hadn't even _spoken_ to her. And I'm her freaking _twin_! Arron decided to be annoying and told me I could use my magical twin telepathy to talk to her. I'd told him to fuck off and quit reading so many pathetic fantasy books. He told me most twins in real life _could_, like, feel each other's pain or whatever, or sense when they're in danger. I told him they were fakes and attention seekers. Like him.

So, moving on from the conversation, I was now sitting, waiting in my room for a glimpse of the minibus, or until it was three o'clock. Flo had arrived about half an hour after Arron, and was now joining Gabby in teaching Arron how to do karate. It was an odd sight. Dan and Liam were sitting laughing as two eight year olds beat up a nineteen year old (his birthday was in December. You missed it. Shame on you...).

Tom and Elizabeth had gone off on a romantic stroll or something of the sort, being the couple of our little... gang. I glanced at Dan, who was sat laughing with Liam because Gabby had knocked Arron down for the fifth time, and wondered if we would ever end up like Elizabeth and Tom. I realised, probably not- I hate strolling to nowhere particular. Then I wondered why the fuck I was even wondering any of it. It's not like Dan and I are going out or anything...

Andrew was pacing the room, glancing out of the window, and then pacing the room again. I tapped my feet off the floor impatiently, and got up to look out of the window. Zip, zilch, nada. Nothing. Not a thing. No minibus. Just a bunch of red shirts playing football. And some random grey shirts walking across the muddy playing field looking very dishevelled and dirty. And tired. I looked at them more closely. Six of them. One with long blonde hair.

I grabbed my phone just as it started ringing.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hi, the minibus broke down. We got back to campus the old fashioned way. Do you mind carrying me upstairs, 'cos the lift will probably be broken and I'm too tired to climb the stairs?" Emma asked.

"Great, luggage service is coming," I said sarcastically, "See you in about thirty seconds," I told her, then hung up, "She's back, people!" I called to the room in general, before shooting out into the corridor and sprinting down the stairs.

Emma and five others were sitting at the bottom of the stairs looking exhausted.

"Emma!" I cheered, catapulting into her.

"Ok, ok, calm down," Emma patted my arm to tell me to get off. I pulled back and inspected her.

"Mud in your hair, a massive rat's nest, three tears in your trousers, massive bags under your eyes and a pristine grey t-shirt," I told her, "I'm guessing... three, four nights out in the wilderness without having a shower or brushing your hair,"

Emma rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I'm guessing it's been about a week since you brushed yours,"

"Oi! That was uncalled for!" I cried.

"Woah, I'm seeing double," A cocky voice mumbled from behind.

"Shut up, Zach! That's her twin! Moron!" A fed up girl yelled as we turned around.

"Don't worry, Zack, or whatever she just called you. Moron, or something. I'm sure the sleep loss just affected your brain cells and reduced you to a mere hundredth of your full potential, so that now, all you can do is say stupid things and state the obvious,"

Zack laughed, "You have a nice twin," He told Emma.

The girl whacked him on the shoulder, "God! Shut! Up! You are so annoying!" She snapped at him.

"That's Tess, they're brother and sister. Tess' a few months younger than Zack though," Emma told me, "And Zack's very annoying,"

I looked Zack up and down for a few seconds, "Yeah, he _is_ annoying, someone must've slapped him real hard for him to break his nose,"

Zack frowned, "I hav-"

"Silly me!" I exclaimed, interrupting him, "You _haven't_ got a broken nose. You've just got an extremely ugly one,"

Someone laughed, "Give them a chance to breathe before you insult them, Anna," Dan grinned, walking down the last few stairs.

Behind him were Gabby and Flo, helping a beaten up Arron down the stairs. I tried not to laugh. Andrew was at the back of the group, behind Liam, Elizabeth and Tom, who must've magically teleported back up to my room and gone with the others back down the stairs.

Gabby spotted Emma and abandoned Arron and Flo.

"Emma!" She shrieked, hurling herself at Emma.

Liam and Zach were now talking to each other. Well, they always say that annoying people find each other because no one else wants to be their friend. Well, actually, no one does, I just made it up. But it's true.

Emma was taking to Gabby and Arron about Basic Training, and I glanced at the rest of the trainees. They all looked as if they'd died from exhaustion several days ago, had a near death experience with a clothes shredder and had developed a very sudden need to exercise all day for the rest of their lives. It didn't exactly look like they'd had a great time, but I supposed that was kinda the point of Basic Training.

"Having second thoughts?" Dan asked from behind me, making me jump.

"No," I told him curtly, "Just making a mental note to pack some soap,"

Dan sniffed the air in the direction of the trainees and nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that might be a good idea,"

Zack got up from his conversation with Liam and walked over to me and Dan, "Hi, don't-know-your-name and twin-girl," He said casually.

"Hi, annoying-as-hell-twerp-who-seriously-needs-a-bath-and-a-life," I replied in the same tone, "Oh, and by the way, I'm no one, and that's Fred. We don't want to talk to you,"

"Fred? And, Anna, there's this thing called subtlety," Dan added.

I shrugged, "Subtlety is for diplomatic freaks. And Fred is a cool name. There are people called Fred. No one," I said loudly, in the direction of Arron, "Is called _Larry_,"

Arron stuck his tongue out in a childish gesture, "Well all of your names were twice as rubbish!"

Dan looked between us, "What was this? Did you guys get to decide what to call you little sister was called or something? Because if it's that, then, _Larry_ is a _really_ bad name,"

"Nope," I said gruffly, and Arron shook his head, looking away, back to his conversation with Emma and Gabby.

Dan glanced between us, seeing our uncomfortable expressions, "Oh! You mean when you were-"

"Yup, then, and can you not mention it? It dents my ego! And it's not exactly a great conversation starter," I told him, trying to 'subtly' remind him that Zack was still standing next to us, listening very carefully to our conversation.

Dan snorted, "You have a big enough ego already, little Miss I-can-hack-anything-including-Liam's-email-account. Although, that was actually quite funny. And anyway, why the hell were you discussing _names_ when you were being kidn-"

"We were bored. It happens, you know. It's extremely rare, but it does happen. Occasionally when you get kidnapped, you spend your whole time being interrogated and tortured with horrific methods. One of those methods is immense boredom. You leave your hostages or whatever in a room they can't escape from and wait while they slowly die from lack of something to do. Wait long enough, and they'll tell you everything they know just so that they're not bored for a few more minutes. And no, we didn't _say_ anything Dan, we didn't have anything to _say_. I was exaggerating it. OK, it was more of making it up. But we were extremely bored. We were there for days on end!" I ranted.

Dan held up his hands in submission, "Ok, ok, calm down. I guess dying of boredom mustn't have been too hard for you," I hit him, "Ow! Come on! I was joking!" Dan moaned, nursing his arm.

"Stop milking it Dan, you're _fine_," I sighed.

Zack was still looking between us, confused, "Wait... so... you were kidnapped? Who'd want to kidnap you?"

We both turned to look at him, "Believe it or not, Zack, but some people actually _special talents_ that other weirdo freaks might want to use. Or have secret agents as their fathers, who then promptly pretend to die when they're not actually dead and disappear of the face of the Earth. Or it could've been that Bob was mentally insane. Which he was anyway,"

"Bob?" Dan and Zach echoed.

"_Pretended to die_?" Emma asked incredulously.

* * *

><p>Chapter 35~Anna<p>

I know what you're thinking- this is turning into a pathetic TV show where everyone keeps random secrets and people find out about them at the most awkward of times. And then the show ends before you find out every ones' reactions. Or, in this case, the chapter. Which isn't so bad.

"Yes, Bob, the insane guy who Arron and I talked to! I'll fill you in another time," I told Dan and Zach, then turned back to Anna.

Arron was shaking his head, trying not to laugh, "Smooth, Anna, smooth," He told me.

Emma glanced suspiciously between Arron, Gabby and me, "Did something happen while I was in Basic Training,"

"Well, not exactly while you were in Basic Training. It was actually happening behind our backs for the past... what, fourteen years. Heck, probably even before we were born. Not probably, probably definitely! We only _found out about it_ while you were in Basic Training. Because what actually happened, happened for all that time before and after we were born and the whole pretending to die thing happened around the time he pretended to die. No, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Before he pretended to die, before he pretend to die... Well, it happened more than fourteen years ago. Wait, I've already said that and that isn't true, it happened a few months ago," I stopped to catch my breath and noticed everyone staring at me weirdly.

"Hey, just because nothing totally weird or exciting happens in your life, doesn't mean we can't have someone in our lives who is not dead but is supposed to be and is presumed to be. Which is not exciting, just highly annoying, especially when you have no goddamned clue where he is and have absolutely no reassurance that he is actually alive because he could actually be dead anyway!" I snapped at them.

By the even more confused looks on their faces, none of them had understood a single word of what I'd said.

Arron stepped in to save me from confusing Emma any more than I already had, "Emma, um... our Dad worked for MI6, not the BBC. And they faked his death because these people wanted him dead. But now he's missing, presumed dead,"

"Which, like I _said_, is not exciting, just highly annoying. But trust me, Emma, I am going to find out where the _hell_ he's got to even if I'm classed as a security risk for the rest of my entire life. And when I _do_ find him I'm going to hit him for disappearing on us. Then hit him again for faking his own death. Then maybe hit him for being a secret agent behind our backs!"

Emma was, unsurprisingly, quite a bit shocked. A shy brown haired girl stepped up beside her and nudged her, "Hey, at least he could still be alive, right? I mean, it's kinda like he's been given a second chance at life or something,"

Emma smiled at that, "Or he could just be extremely lucky, Raine,"

Gabby clung on to Emma's hand, "Yeah, but it's nicer to think that he's had a second chance at life. Because if he's had a second chance, maybe he'll get a third. Because I'm pretty sure Anna will keep her promise about beating him up,"

Dan hid a grin, "Violent tendencies, Anna, violent tendencies,"

"Shut up you! I'll hit you again in a minute!" I joked, further proving Dan's point.

"Well, I can bet it's been a busy day!" Arron said, starting to push Emma towards the stairs. I guess he knew that Emma probably wanted to get out of the public eye before she did something drastic. Like break down into tears (which I doubted) or possibly faint (well, she was going quite pale), "What, with finishing Basic Training, um... it being your birthday and um... you finding out something... new and... very important,"

"You learn a new thing every day!" I chimed in cheerfully.

Arron rolled his eyes at me and I helped drag Emma up the stairs, Gabby trailing behind.

We took Emma up to my room, because no one could remember where Emma's room was (Arron and I never knew in the first place! And I shoved every one out (meaning Dan, Liam, Andrew, Tom, Elizabeth, and a scandalized Arron and Gabby).

"We're having a twin sister talk, which means Emma needs some personal space, so you lot can all shove off and I'm going to attempt to be nice. Nope, I don't believe in subtlety and I have things to talk about with Emma anyway, so you guys can shove off while Emma cleans herself up 'cos she stinks. Sorry that wasn't nice. While Emma cleans herself up because she _smells_..._ odd_," I told them all, shutting the door in their objecting faces.

Emma glanced at me, "Thanks. I think I need a few minutes just to get used to being back," She spotted the reams of paper that were all over the floor. I frowned. The last time I'd seen them, they had been stacked very neatly and hidden away behind the desk. No wonder it had taken everyone so long to come down, if they'd waited 'til I was gone to have a massive paper fight.

"Wow. You've been working hard," She whistled, leafing through them.

I grunted, "MI6 didn't design themselves to be easy to hack into, that's for sure. Heck I'm having trouble even finding a possible way to _find_ the security log in area. The easiest, most simple way to hack into MI6 would to bypass the log in. But you can't bypass a log in you don't have. That's what all this is- a series of codes and encrypted information. I'm trying things the unusual way- hacking into something that isn't there, because I don't have it,"

Emma had gotten a blank look from a about the third or fourth sentence, "Have you even tried to figure out how to get to that security area thing?"

"Of course I have! The thing is, there are two possibilities. Well, three, really. One of which means we are screwed and I'll never find it, the other two also mean I'm screwed and will never find it, but at least with them I know it is actually there,"

"Go on," Emma told me.

"Well, the one in which I'm screwed and will never find it is that you can only access the mainframe of the MI6 network with a computer supplied by MI6 or something. And our laptop obviously isn't, so if it's that, like I said, we're screwed. Well really, the other two are the same theory. They're more of subsections of that theory," I saw Emma's face, "Never mind, anyway. I think that the MI6 website would have to be accessible on any computer or laptop in the UK, so that, no matter what, as long as the agents have a computer, they can get the information they need or whatever. So it would need to be on something that everyone can access,"

Emma nodded, "The internet, of course,"

I nodded too, "Yes, that's what I thought. It would be hard to find, since there are so many hits when you Google MI6, and even then, it might not come up. It might be something entirely different you need to search to find it. Which means we're also screwed and will probably never find it. Of course, we've both overlooked something anyway- you won't always be able to access the internet, so you'd be stuck if you needed something,"

Emma frowned, "So then how would you get to it?"

"Well, if the MI6 security log in was part of a series of programmes hidden on every computer in the UK, then, as long as you knew how to get to it- and had a computer- then you could pretty much always get to the mainframe and all of that. There is less chance of anyone having no computer than anyone having no internet, so a bigger chance you'll be able to get to what you need. If that's the right theory, then we're still screwed, because I have no clue how to start, and it might not even be there,"

"So... basically, it's a hopeless case," Emma sighed.

"Yup, it seems like it," I glanced at her, then picked up a towel from one of my draws and chucked it at her, "We're still the same size clothes. You can borrow some of my stuff if you want," I told her.

Emma shot me a grateful look and went to have a shower. While she was in my bathroom, I sat down in front of my laptop frowning at it. Well, it wasn't really my laptop anymore- Emma was back so we'd have to get used to sharing it again, even though our rooms were about three floors away from each other. Maybe we could save up and get another. Or one of us could just use the computers in the ICT room. Or, we could just ditch that laptop and use the ones that werre already in our rooms. But that would mean having to fiddle around endlessly with the security settings again, to make sure none of my stuff could get hacked... Of course, the best option of all would be that I built one myself, so I could set up all the starter programmes and turn it into an immense hacking machine. But that was probably never going to happen.

Emma popped her head around the door, after about half an hour, to request some decent not messy, dirty or in serious need of a wash, clothes, and I chucked her some of mine to put on.

Emma emerged looking considerably less dirty and more like a pretty fourteen year old (well, fifteen now, technically) girl who would probably be a good model if she didn't have more brains than most of them, especially since being pretty probably meant wearing makeup and silly clothes. Maybe Emma wouldn't mind that, but I'd much rather stick to jeans and a plain t-shirt, or, if I couldn't have that, the CHERUB uniform. Emma looked me over too, probably deciding that I needed a hair cut sometime soon.

"Just as long as it isn't a bowl cut or a bob, I'm fine with it," I told her warningly. Emma smiled, and sat down on the bed next to me.

"I was thinking, about the whole trying-to-hack-into-MI6 thing, and well... if Dad really does work for MI6, which is really weird, to be quite frank, then, wouldn't he have it on his computer back at home?"

I looked up at her, "That's genius! If only we had had a chance to get a look at it before his work reclaimed it," I sighed.

Emma nodded, "But you can still remember the basic start up programmes and all that, right? Because, if we checked the computers here, too, if Dad's computer, our laptop, and the computers in the ICT room _all_ have the same start up programmes, then one of them could be a way into the MI6 database or mainframe thingy in disguise!"

"Brilliant, Emma!" I cheered, "Wow, I'm possibly getting further in a day with this, than I have in the past month!"

Emma smiled again but was looking slightly worried, and a bit like she was about to have a mind-in-another-place moment. I sighed.

"There's something else, apart from all this, isn't there?" I asked.

Emma blinked and nodded, "Well... all this talk about Dad not being dead, and all your plans to find him... does it not make you wonder what happened to Mum?" She asked me.

* * *

><p>Hahahahahaha *evil laugh* Cliffhangers are so amusing to do (well, probably not for you guys, but I enjoy doing them...) =)<p> 


	12. There Once Was A Hamster Named Sybil

Well, here's another chapter. Unfortunately, I'm going away tomorrow (for 2 weeks) and I won't have any internet (for 2 weeks) and I may possibly die (for 2 weeks) so you won't be getting another chapter (for 2 weeks)...

Sooooooo ENJOY!

* * *

><p>Chapter 36~Emma<p>

I knew what Anna would say about Mum, I'd heard it enough times, so when I asked her about Mum, I wasn't all that surprised to hear her start up again.

"I don't ever want to see Mum again! I hate her! She's such a... Drunk idiot!" Anna scowled.

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Drunk idiot? That's the worst you've got?" I asked her.

"Is it not enough already that I've told you I hate her?" Anna snapped.

"Anna, she _is_ our Mum. Anything could've happened to her while we've been here. She's so drunk all of the time that she wouldn't be able to work to pay for the house, or for her alcohol. She could be living on the streets!" I growled back.

"Well it would serve her right if she was!" Anna retorted sulkily.

"Anna, come on! Even if you don't care about Mum, I do! All I want to do is find out where she is, and if she's alright!" I argued.

Anna looked at me, "And what happens if she _is_ living on the streets? I'm not helping her out,"

I shrugged, knowing that Anna probably would end up helping Mum out in the end, if we need to, "We'll think of something if it comes to that. I just want to know she's ok,"

Anna scowled, crossing her arms sulkily, "Fine, I'll help out, ok? But I'm sure if you asked Meryl, she could help out more than I could,"

"Yeah, but who's to say this won't involve some illegal stuff?" I asked, knowing it was Anna's weak point. I swear her aim in life is to break every rule she can find. Apart from maybe the 'thou shalt not kill' kind of ones...

Anna sighed, "Yeah, yeah, ok, whatever. I'm gonna go check your theory, so, if you want, you can go talk to Andrew," She looked at me, grinning, "I think you two might both be wanting a little _quality time_ alone,"

I chucked her pillow at her, hiding my blushing cheeks for a few seconds. Anna ducked the pillow and widened her grin at the sight of my face.

"Emma and Andrew sitting in a tree," She began.

"Aw come on! I just got back!" I moaned.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Anna chanted over the top of me.

"Anna!" I complained, poking her in the ribs.

"First comes love, second comes marriage, third comes the baby in the golden carriage!" Anna went on.

I'd like to say that I was more mature than Anna. Unfortunately, I'm known to rise to the occasional jibe. As well as the fact that I had just got back from Basic Training.

"Anna and Dan, sitting on a log," I yelled over the top of Anna, "Oh, watch out they're gonna snog!"

"That's not all, that's not all, here comes the baby drinking alcohol!" Anna shouted.

"First comes fun, second comes rings, third comes the-" I yelled.

Anna paused, "When the hell did you learn that one?" She asked.

I stopped yelling, embarrassed that I'd managed to stoop to Anna's level of immaturity.

"From Raine," I told her, shrugging.

"I have no idea who she is, but say hi to her at some point," Anna said vaguely, "Now go snog- sorry, I meant, say hi to- Andrew,"

I glanced at her for a second, but she was already digging through her stuff, trying to find something, so I decided to leave before I was further teased. I headed upstairs, to my own room.

Andrew was waiting by the door. I grinned at him, blushing as I remembered Anna's teasing. God! She could be annoying sometimes! Andrew smiled back, and hugged me.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked me quietly, as I opened my bedroom door. We sat on the bed, next to each other.

I remembered that I'd been freaking out about my Dad, the last time I'd seen Andrew, so I nodded, "I'm fine- it was just a bit of a surprise, you know? I guess it hasn't exactly sunk in properly, yet," I shrugged, trying to act relaxed.

Inside, I couldn't help reminding myself that this was the first conversation I'd had with Andrew in a hundred days.

"Yeah, it must be weird thinking about it," Andrew nodded sympathetically, "But hey, at least you passed Basic Training! Congratulations, I knew you could do it!" He smiled again, arm slung casually over my shoulders.

"Ah, look at the two love birds. It's a truly puke worthy sight," A very annoying but all too familiar voice came from the doorway. Dan. Followed by Gabby, Flo and Arron.

I glared at him, annoyed that he couldn't leave me and Andrew alone for more than a minute, "I'm sure you used to be a lot less annoying and full of yourself,"

Andrew, who was also glaring at Dan, nodded, "Yeah, that was when he was mourning over Anna's disappearance. Since then, the two of them have been inseparable," Andrew sighed, "I know Anna's your sister and all, but she's as annoying as Dan, sometimes,"

I grimaced, "I can imagine,"

Arron sat down on the other side to me, "We couldn't leave you two to yourself, otherwise you might _kiss_," He made a face, at which Gabby and Flo laughed. I guess Arron was always going to be Gabby's main entertainer. Then Anna. I guess I'm always portrayed as the boring, albeit sensible one.

"Or more," Dan grinned, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Nothing more than you've already done with Anna," Andrew retorted.

Dan grinned, "Have you been watching us or something?" He teased, but everyone could see him blushing.

Arron had a hand clasped over one of Gabby's ears and one of Flo's, "Little people here! Less suggestiveness! Plus, you two, that is getting seriously gross,"

"Yeah, you two, whatever rivalry you have, don't use our relationships as part of it, because, Dan, Andrew? Seriously gross," Anna said from the doorway, "Plus it would be very un-cool for our little sister to repeat everything you two just argued about to the whole of campus, which would then make it look like there was a lot more going on then there is,"

"Ouch," Dan grinned at Anna, "And I thought you were 'busy'"

I looked at her, a sort of, I'm-still-annoyed-with-you-about-winding-me-up-and-apparently-Andrew-too-but-yeah-thanks-for-saying-that-because-I-totally-agree-with-you look. She grinned back, going to stand next to Dan. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that I was actually older than her. Despite her having the immaturity of a five year old, she was ten times more confidence and at ease around everyone than I was. I guess she'd just got used to being with these guys while I was still in training. She shrugged at Dan, answering his question with a simple, "I got bored,"

"Well, we'll leave you four to yourselves, 'cos I promised Gabby and Flo I would see their pet hamster," Arron sighed, making a face at us, "Apparently, they called it Sybil,"

Gabby shrugged, "It was that or Afro Fringe,"

"I still think Mr Gorilla Face would've been cooler," Flo sighed as they headed for the door.

"It was too... lacking of imagination," Gabby called back from out in the corridor.

"And Sybil isn't?"

"Hey! Sybil is an awesome name!"

"So is Larry," We heard Arron interrupt.

Anna was out the door before I could blink, "For the last time, _no one_ is called Larry, Arron! Face facts! It is a rubbish name!"

"It's not so bad," Arron hedged.

I glanced at Andrew, who shrugged, just as confused as I was. Dan was shaking his head in amusement.

"Do you have any clue what those two are talking about?" I asked him quietly.

Dan mimicked Andrew's gesture, "Anna mentioned that they got very bored when... well, you know. So... apparently they were discussing names. Don't ask why,"

"Anna's always so... non freaked out by the fact she was kidnapped and practically starved for about a week," Andrew noted.

"It's just... her, you know? Throw something like that on her face, her reaction is so completely insane, it makes sense," Dan glanced out of the open door, looking at Anna and Arron arguing, "It doesn't really surprise me to see she's completely fine with it. It's just her," He repeated.

This was the first time I'd actually been able to discuss what'd happened to Anna and Arron. Until now, I'd had other things on my mind. I felt kinda selfish for not thinking about it, for expecting Anna to be exactly the same. She seemed to be.

"So... she's fine with it? Like, nothing affected her?" I asked cautiously.

"Pretty much. Although I think she may be afraid of locked doors, now. Her room door is never locked. I asked her about it one time, and she told me to shove off, so, yeah," Dan shrugged, "I think it's Arron who's gonna be the changed one. I didn't know him well before, and I still don't, but he doesn't seem to bounce back from things the way Anna does,"

We all were looking at them in the corridor now, "What was with the bandages she had on?" I asked Dan.

"Huh? How did you know?" Dan asked, surprised for a second, then he shook his head, "Stupid question. She got into the training compound, obviously," Dan sighed, "One of them was where she kicked a window and smashed it. She cut her leg a bit..." He trailed off, and I guessed he had been very worried about her at the time.

Andrew coughed awkwardly, and mumbled, "She got shot in the shoulder, too,"

"She WHAT?" I demanded.

Anna popped her head back into the room, "Hey guys, I've been dragged into seeing Sybil. If you lot wanna come then..." She trailed off, sensing that she'd not only interrupted something, but that it had been quite serious. And that it may have been about her, "Woah... serious tension in here," She grinned at us, reaching over to me and ruffling my hair, "Don't kill too many brain cells, Emma, you may need them. If anyone needs help hacking something, I'll be talking to Sybil," Then Anna went out and back down the corridor.

* * *

><p>Chapter 37<p>

Emma waited until Anna had definitely gone, then turned back to Dan and Andrew.

"_What_ did you say?" She demanded.

"Well, the crazy guy- Bob, she called him, or something- like, shot her?" Dan mumbled, almost scared of Emma's fierce glare. No, scratch that, he _was_ scared.

Anna may be amazing at hacking and will get you back somehow, no matter how subtly, but, Dan reflected, Emma would be the one you would be terrified of.

Andrew put a reassuring hand on Emma's shoulder, "Emma, she's fine now. They took the bullet out and everything. The only thing left is the memory of it, and the scar on her shoulder. Which she frequently reminds us about,"

Dan snorted, "Yeah, because she says that if 'chicks dig scars' then a chick with her _own_ scar, if the ultimate winner, 'cos she doesn't have to put up with an annoying full-of-himself guy bragging about his all day,"

Dan noticed Emma and Andrew staring at him, eyebrows raised in a look something familiar to irony.

"Hey, come on!" Dan complained, "I'm not _that_ annoying, or full-of-myself. And I don't even _have _a scar, for crying out loud!"

Emma shook her head, "Whatever. I just can't believe she actually got shot. Or kidnapped,"

"Or starved for about a week," Dan added in, before realising that it probably wasn't going to help.

Emma glared at him, "Sheesh, not helpful, Dan," She sighed, "Anna always used to get herself injured somehow. She's broken more bones than Arron, Gabby and I put together, but it's just not right for her to be shot at. Who would ever want to shoot _her_?" Emma asked, dismayed.

"Maybe to shut her up, if she got really annoying?" Andrew suggested. Dan almost laughed. Emma glared. Again.

"You too? Anna is my sister for crying out loud! We were inseparable for fourteen years! The few days I'm not there, she got shot! I didn't even know about it until now, and you guys are _joking_ about it?"

Dan and Andrew attempted to be serious. It was hard, Dan decided, to think that Anna and Emma had spent their whole lives together. They were so independent of each other, you would think they were just two not particularly good friends. But Emma _was_ right; they'd spent the first fourteen years together. It was only when Anna had been kidnapped, and Emma had gone into Basic training that they'd been separated.

All of this deep, physiological shit is too... informative, Dan thought, and shook his head clear.

"Let's just change the subject, it's getting kinda depressing," Dan sighed.

Emma nodded sombrely, "I feel so out of touch with everything. You guys know all this stuff, but I didn't know my Dad was even alive!"

"That's Basic Training for you," Dan nodded, "You come back and find that the last newspaper you read is just the same as the next one you'll read. The only difference is that the next one will be twice as expensive,"

"What does that have anything to do with Basic Training? That happens in normal life!" Andrew argued.

Emma laughed slightly. Dan glanced at his watch. He had to get going; He was meeting Meryl in half an hour and he needed to check on what Anna had been up to.

"Well, I gotta go right now, but I'll leave you guys alone for now," Dan chuckled, and headed out before either Emma or Andrew would reply.

He walked down to the sixth floor and glanced inside Anna's room, checking no one was in. It was empty. Dan looked for a few minutes at the paper work, but decided that it wasn't Anna's style, putting important notes on paper, and went over to Emma and Anna's laptop.

Anna put stuff on her laptop, because she wouldn't lose it. And it was very hard to hack into. And her important stuff was probably protected by more than a simple log in password.

Sure enough, when Dan tried to access Anna's documents, a load of boxes with information came up with a basic message saying 'shove off' on them. Dan frowned. Looks like I'll be doing this the hard way, he thought to himself, and stuck a memory stick into the laptop. He attempted to download everything on the laptop, onto the memory stick. Unfortunately, the laptop didn't like that.

A further set of messages came up and Dan scowled. Why was Anna so goddamned difficult? And why the hell would she ever feel the need for this? Paranoia? He re-tried downloading the stuff, but the laptop protested again. This time, a flashing box came up on screen, announcing that it would call Anna's mobile and tell her someone was interfering with her laptop if Dan attempted to download stuff onto the memory stick again.

Dan yanked the stick out and shoved it back into his pocket, hoping the flashing message would go away. It did, eventually. Muttering curses at Anna's paranoia, he trudged downstairs to admit to Meryl that the workings of Anna's portable laptop mystified him. He wasn't looking forward to the prospect of admitting defeat, especially at a task so easy it was impossible not to fail.

Whoever said nothing is impossible, Dan grumbled, should be punched in the face. And they, _clearly_, have never tried slamming a revolving door.

Meryl, John and Peter were waiting for Dan, when he arrived.

"Well?" Meryl demanded, as soon as he arrived.

Dan shook his head, "I don't know how she's managed to do it, but that laptop probably has a higher IQ than I do. All her important stuff in encrypted and it rings her phone if you try to download everything onto a memory stick too many times. Anna may be a good hacker, but she's also a technical genius!"

Peter smiled slightly, "Not quite. The last time I saw her, she still couldn't rewrite the family DVD player to actually play DVDs,"

Everyone stared at him, slightly surprised. He shrugged, awkwardly, "Michael was complaining that she broke the DVD of Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo when the DVD player kept rejecting it,"

Dan laughed as he tried to imagine it, "Yeah, Anna's impatient in that way,"

"So how do we see how near she is to hacking into MI6?" Peter asked, almost rhetorically, "And how do we get the information _we_ want?"

"Um... switch the laptop?" Dan asked into the silence.

"Wouldn't it just be easier just to send someone in who is advanced at decryption into her room, while she was out?" John suggested.

Peter shook his head, "Michael was a genius at encryption and decryption. If he taught Anna how to hack basic things, he will have taught her all of that, too. Anything of Anna's that she wants to keep out of sight, you'll find is far out of your reach. It could take days to decrypt it all,"

"So... what do we do?" Dan asked in the silence that followed.

Meryl leaned forward, "We do this," She announced, "Anna will be in her room quite a lot, considering it is half-term now. We can't wait until school starts again- it would be too late. So, somehow, we draw Anna out of her room. Once that is done, one of us will go in and see what's encrypted, or protected. Then I'll call in some favours, and see if I can get someone in who can get us a solution,"

Peter nodded thoughtfully, "I bet I know someone who'll get me in touch with a technical expert. He knows everyone there is to know. Handy guy, in times like these,"

"So, when does this plan take action?" John asked.

Meryl glanced at Dan, "Where's Anna and co. right now?"

"Last time I checked... visiting Sybil, the hamster," Dan grimaced at the name of Flo and Gabby's new hamster.

"Well then, you go keep them all out of the way. I'll get someone in immediately," Meryl ordered.

* * *

><p>Chapter 38~Anna<p>

Hamsters. They're annoying, obsessed with squeaky need-to-be-oiled wheels, are nocturnal, wee and poo on your hand and should not be called Sybil. Especially when the hamster is a guy hamster.

Hamsters shouldn't be called Larry, either. Just to clarify. I'm pretty sure I'm offending a lot of Larry's right now... Just remember, everyone, it's not your looks (or name) it's your personality. For instance, if you're a two faced bitch called Sandi, who is in the same ICT class as me and lives on CHERUB campus, then, well, _clearly_ you should not have hamsters named after you.

I glanced over at Sandi, who was sitting with her five year old brother in the opposite corner to Gabby, Flo, Arron and I. Well, glance was putting it mildly. It was more like a brief death-glare.

Sandi and I have a certain hate for each other. Maybe hate is too... not strong enough. Sandi and I _despise_ each other. We _loathe _and_ scorn _each other. Yeah, I'm reading this really weird and pointless book. It's called Collins Pocket Thesaurus. It's the sequel to a book called Collins Pocket Dictionary. Both books are shity.

No, I'm joking, I _do_ know that neither of them are proper stories. But they're still shity books. Back to my previous... subject of hate.

So, Sandi the annoying bitch from the depths of hell... there isn't anything I can really say about her that won't offend anything I compare her to. I mean, really, it would offend any and all bitches, cows and freaks of natures to be compared to _Sandi_. So I shall nickname her Sandi the indescribably incomparable. They were from the dictionary, by the way. It wasn't a Collins one though. It was an oxford dictionary.

No, I haven't read two dictionaries. I didn't even fully read the Collins one. I just borrowed one of them in an English lesson to see if there was an entry under 'flippers' and one in an...other English lesson to look up 'blatantly obvious'. Damn Sandi's superior vocabulary.

I turned back to Sybil, who was now slowly but surely eating Arron's shirt, while Arron sat talking to Gabby and Flo about... weird stuff... weirdos. I went back to join into the conversation, and ended up holding Sybil. I wasn't too pleased about that, trust me.

Don't get me wrong- I do like animals. It's just that Sybil was a tad too extreme for me. Sybil was an orange and black furry hamster with buck teeth and a tendency to pee on you when you held him. I'd only met him once, and I gathered that from the few times (seven) he'd peed on me whole I was holding him (for fifteen minutes).

"When I'm older," I told Sybil, holding him far away from me, "I'm gonna get a parrot. I'm pretty sure parrots eat hamsters. And if they don't I'll feed you to Buckbeak. You look ferrety enough,"

Gabby and Flo looked horrified.

"Who's Buckbeak?" Arron demanded.

"That ferret eating Hippogriff out of Harry Potter," I mumbled vaguely, trying to work out Sybil's current facial expression. He looked kinda... happy. Clearly, I hadn't threatened him enough.

Unfortunately, before I could, Gabby took him back, hugging him protectively.

"That's better," I grinned, wiping my hands on my jeans, "I thought he might be about to pee..." I trailed off, looking horrified at Gabby's hands, where Sybil was sitting, "Oh, he almost _did_ pee on me. Thanks, Gabby," I told her.

Gabby yelped, shoved Sybil at Arron, and started trying to pull off her three-sizes-too-small jumper. Arron wasn't having a peeing hamster on him, and shoved it at Flo, who shoved it back. The two of them started a have-a-hamster-no-really-I-insist war. I cracked up laughing.

"Joke!" I yelled through hysterics. Gabby pulled her jumper back down again and scowled at me. Arron subtly put Sybil in Flo's hands while she glared murderously at me. Then looked into the space behind me, and turned pale.

"A-Anna t-there's something b-behind you!" She squealed.

Gabby turned to look and backed away slightly, too, "Anna, move very slowly towards us. No sudden moves," She whispered.

Arron looked at me, then behind me repeatedly looking worried. I crossed my arms.

"Seriously, you guys? You reeeaaallly think I'm gonna fall for _that_?" I asked scornfully, "There is nothing behind me!" I told them.

Something dropped onto my shoulder. I couldn't help it- I screamed.

Gabby, Flo and Arron burst out laughing. I turned around to see Dan, laughing so much he was in tears.

"Very funny, Daniel Whitness," I glared at him, using his full name.

"That... was... freaking... hilarious... you... shoulda... seen... your... face!" Arron gasped.

"Shut up! You're just angry about the Sybil thing!" I snapped at him grumpily.

"And you're just grumpy 'cos I made you scream," Dan retorted, sitting next to me on the bench.

"You," I told him, "Are very annoying,"

"Ooooh! That's rich," Arron called at me, staying a safe distance away.

"Arron, may I remind you that your friends from Wales still think you're sending messages by telepathy from a hospital in Ireland where you're in a coma?" I glared at him, remembering the last time he'd seriously pissed me off- he'd eaten all of my secret stash of chocolate.

"Yeah, but I have no social life at school anyway, so you can't tell anyone anything about me who'll actually care," Arron shrugged.

"He's got you there," Dan grinned.

I attempted to kick him. He slung his arm around my shoulders casually. Kinda like Andrew and Emma. Ew. Not cool... well, for Emma and Andrew, anyway. Arron looked at the two of us and raised his eyebrows suggestively. Immature git. I glared at him. He grinned and turned to Flo and Gabby.

"I think Anna's got a secret to tell you guys," Arron grinned, glancing back and winking cheekily, "Anna and Dan have been getting very close, lately, and-"

"That's it!" I snapped, leaping up and slapping my hand over his mouth. Dan just laughed. Annoyingly, Arron was laughing too.

"You love him, you wanna kiss him!" Arron mumbled through my hand. I hit him on the head.

"You wanna marry him,"

"I hate you," I growled at him.

"That's ok," Arron shrugged.

I punched him in the gut. Quite hard. Then, I heard some rather disdainful tutting in the far corner. We all looked around to see that Sandi's little brother had gone (probably run away from her, poor sod) and she was watching us with something bordering disgust. I stood up.

"You got a problem?" I asked her, in a tone that indicated that I really, really wanted her to piss off.

"Oh, no, do go on beating up your family. It's sooo what other families do," Sandi waved her hand, gesturing for us to carry on.

"Really? I was under the impression that normal families raise spoilt little brats that tut at everyone and think they're so much better than everyone else," I growled.

"Oh no, you're not a normal family, if that's what you were thinking. Families like yours tend to be poor and penniless. Sometimes, some of the kids have to earn money for their family. It's very sad, really,"

"Yeah, well, at least no one in my family's a freaking orphan!" I snapped at her, despite the fact that nearly everyone on campus was an orphan anyway.

"No, your parents just deserted you, didn't they?" Sandi said calmly, inspecting her nails, "Your Mum disappears to spend all her time drinking and your Dad runs away from some bad guys and doesn't come back for you,"

I had never hated Sandi more than in that moment. Because I knew most of what she said was exactly right. So I walked over to her and punched her in the head.

Sandi gasped, acting shocked, "How dare you! You're not supposed to use the karate that you've learned here on other people!"

"Good news then, bitch," I replied, "I knew karate before I came here!"

And that was pretty much the part where Sandi and I dropped the pretences (if we hadn't already) and got down to what we really wanted to do. Slap the other silly. Or punch and kick and injure... either way works, really.

* * *

><p>Troll lol lol. Bye for about 2 weeks! (heheheheheheh)<p> 


	13. The Two A4 Pages From Hell

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

* * *

><p>Chapter 39~Anna<p>

Here's the thing about CHERUB. If this was a normal school, there would be a massive crowd of kids yelling, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" at the top of their voices and making a human boxing ring. A teacher would dither in the background, unsure what to do and, at the very worst, you'd get a few detentions. At the best you could get a suspension.

However, at CHERUB, a member of staff arrives on the scene to see Dan attempting to pull me off Sandi, and Gabby, Flo and Arron wondering whether to help Dan stop me, stand around shouting "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" or help me beat up Sandi.

So that was how I ended up sitting in Meryl's office, sitting opposite Meryl, listening to Sandi crying and making up some fake sob story, which Meryl _actually_ seemed to _believe. _I sat there inspecting my nails and looking bored while Sandi talked. Then I got out my Pocket Thesaurus, looked up bored, then 'accidentally' dropped the thing on Sandi's foot.

"So sorry," I told her venomously, "It must have just _dropped_ out of my pocket,"

Sandi glared at me, making sure Meryl didn't notice.

"I'll pick it up," I told the two of them, then bent down under the table to retrieve it.

I reached around to grab it, and noticed Meryl was balancing a mobile phone (ugh! _Meryl_ using _modern_ stuff. No, just... no) on her lap, as if she was expecting, or waiting for a text. I tried to look at it, but knew Meryl and Sandi would get suspicious if I sat under the table all day. I grabbed my thesaurus and sat up again, making sure to 'accidentally' step on Sandi's foot as I did.

"Oww!" Sandi hissed at me.

"Wuss," I spat back at her, just low enough that Meryl didn't hear.

Meryl sat for a moment, after Sandi had finished her story, and looked at the two of us. I had gotten a massive bruise on my forearm and a black eye, but Sandi had two black eyes, a swollen hand and a massive bruise all over both of her legs. It felt good to know I'd come out on top of our fight, but Sandi looking more beaten up than me was just making her story more plausible.

"Anna," Meryl looked at me, "You haven't said much. Tell me your side of the story,"

I shrugged, "Sandi's annoying, self-righteous and, well, annoying. I don't like her. Personally, her being within three metres of me is like an insult. Oh, plus, I was just making sure that karma was being fair, you know. I mean, all those years of being bitchy and horrible, it _has_ to come back to bite you in the butt _sometime_," I shrugged, acting up the full-of-myself bitch persona that Sandi had created for me. Well, apart from the last part. I just wanted to insult Sandi.

Meryl glanced at us both again, with a calculating look in her eyes. She could tell I was lying, I knew that just by looking at her.

"Well, Anna, it appears you have a lot to make up for. I want you to apologise to Sandi," Meryl told me.

I looked at her, eyebrow raised, "What help is that gonna do?" I asked.

"It shows that you are sorry for hurting Sandi," Meryl said calmly.

"But I'm not. The whole intention of beating Sandi up was to hurt her, otherwise, why beat her up?" I pointed out.

"For attention?" Sandi sniffed under her breath at me.

"Unlike you, I have friends who give me attention, Sandi," I told her, not bothering to lower my voice.

Meryl sighed at the two of us. "Ok then, Anna, when you're sorry, apologise to Sandi. Sandi, you can go now," She told her.

Sandi nodded, still acting the poor beaten up girl, and left the room.

"So what _really_ happened?" Meryl demanded, as soon as Sandi had gone.

"She insulted me, I insulted her, she insulted me, I insulted her _again_, she insulted my parents, I hit her," I shrugged.

"You can't just hit people because they say horrible things about you or anyone else," Meryl started to lecture.

"Um, hello! Welcome to the real world, where, if someone pisses someone else off, they get beaten up!" I snapped, "And I've heard the lecture before. Telling me not to isn't going to stop me from doing it!"

Meryl sighed and waited for me to finish in a sort of she's-just-a-child-she-doesn't-really-understand way. People piss me off when they do that.

"Anna, as a punishment for hitting Sandi-" She began.

"Actually, I more of beat her up," I interrupted.

"As a punishment for _hitting_ Sandi," She started again, "I'm going to give you a task,"

I rolled my eyes, "And what is this mysterious, oh so important _task_?"

Meryl continued like I hadn't said anything, "I'm not giving you laps or anything else of the sort, because you don't seem to mind doing laps so much. No, this task needs a lot of patience and hard work. Two things you seem to dislike,"

"How observant of you, oh master of my fate!" I exclaimed sarcastically.

"I want you to teach people, who are about to go on important missions, how to hack," Meryl finished.

"Sounds shit," I told her in a fake cheery voice. Just to be extra annoying.

"These people will need to know the basic of hacking within a few days, like a crash course for other kids. They need to be able to hack quickly and efficiently on missions," Meryl told me seriously.

"Sheesh! You're making hacking sound shitty and... well, I mean, when has the word 'efficient' been applied to hacking. Most people descried hacking as an annoying pain in the butt. Mainly because someone's now got all of their personal information and sold it onto random people," I added thoughtfully. In truth, I wasn't even considering doing any of this. I had more important things to be doing. Like hacking into MI6.

Meryl frowned at me, "Anna, this is not a joke, people on these courses will be going on _real_ missions and will have limited amounts of time to get the information they need,"

"And it's very serious, yada, yade, yada," I sighed, "I get it, but honestly Meryl, I'd prefer the laps,"

"I believe I have mentioned that that is the exact reason why I'm not giving you them," Meryl retorted.

"Oh, I thought you were just overlooking the obvious choice. Well, I can't say I didn't try," I shrugged, "I'll admit it; I can't hack anything. All that stuff was random tricks and zero hacking was involved. _Now_ can I do laps instead of teaching people how to hack?" I asked.

"Very funny, Anna, but, somehow, I find that hard to believe," Meryl told me scornfully, "So no,"

"Darn..." I muttered.

Suddenly, there was the muffled and very unnoticeable sound of a phone vibrating. I say unnoticeable because it was, until I saw Meryl jump slightly and look down. I remembered the phone on her lap, and watched her face carefully. Evidentially, she'd just got given a text. Who even _texts _someone like _Meryl_? Why don't they just knock on her office door and wait outside. It's much more expected and slightly less creepy...

Meryl looked up at me sharply and I diverted my gaze out of the window behind her, acting innocent. Meryl sighed, "All right then, I'll make you a deal, Anna,"

"I'm listening. Is it about laps?" I asked.

"No, it isn't," Meryl started.

"Shame," I interrupted, just because. I was in a I-want-to-piss-off-all-authoritive-figures mood. Was authoritive even a word? I mused to myself.

Meryl seemed to take a deep breath to calm down, then started again, "If you write some basic tips on learning to hack and get them back to me by tomorrow, you won't have to teach anyone or do laps,"

"Great! Agreed, I'm going now!" I grinned, hopping up and heading towards the door before Meryl could get further into detail.

"And the basic tips have to be at least two A4 pages long, Anna. I want _detailed_ basic tips," Meryl shouted after me.

I considered my options. Debating with Meryl over that, annoying Meryl about it or pretending I didn't hear. Agreeing wasn't an option.

"And I know you heard me, Anna. Two A4 pages on my desk tomorrow morning, otherwise it's teaching kids how to hack right up until your very first day of Basic Training," Meryl finished.

"Sorry, didn't hear the last part of it. Hack into my email account and try again later," I called back and made a quick exit before she changed it to _three_ A4 pages.

* * *

><p>Chapter 40~Emma<p>

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I'd only been back a day, but I'd decided that if I had to do it at some point anyway, I may as well get it done.

"Come in," Meryl called.

I opened the door and walked in, feeling oddly nervous. Anna would laugh at me if I ever mentioned _that_, but then, Anna's probably almost finished moving into Meryl's office, the amount of times (according to Andrew, anyway- Dan wouldn't tell me a thing about what trouble the two of them had gotten into) she'd been here.

"Hello Emma, what are you doing here?" Meryl asked pleasantly enough.

All I could think about was that the last time I'd seen her- well, the only few times I'd seen her- I'd been what you could call extremely rude, and now I had to ask a favour from her. Anna and I may be nothing alike in some ways, but neither of us enjoy having to swallow our prides enough to ask someone to help if we have previously been very dismissive of that person in question.

"Well I wanted to ask you a few questions," I mumbled.

Meryl nodded to show she was listening, "Is this about your father, or has Anna told you about that?"

"Anna told me," I confirmed, "But it's kind of related. I was wondering if you happened to know what happened to my Mum, since we came here,"

Meryl studied my expression for a second, then nodded, "Your Mum sold the house and virtually disappeared, Emma. We don't know her exact whereabouts right now,"

"She what?" I asked incredulously. Mum had sold our house? How could she even have been sober enough to do that? "Is there a way of finding out where she is?" I asked.

Meryl frowned, "Emma, you do realise that this is a difficult situation- supposedly, both of your parents are alive, and we usually only take orphans. I need to know why exactly you want to see your Mum,"

I nodded, "I understand how unusual the situation is, and how this is probably breaking several of your rules, letting us be here," I told her, wanting her to know that I was being serious, "I just want to know she's Ok, and, if it's not too much, let her know that we're ok. Arron, Anna, Gabby and me, I mean,"

Meryl sighed and thought for a few minutes then gave in, "I'll see what I can do, Emma, but I can't promise you anything,"

"Thank you," I sighed, almost relived.

I stood up and left the room, shutting the door behind me.

Andrew was waiting outside anxiously, "Did she agree?" He asked me as I came out.

I nodded, "Yeah, she said she'd see what she could do. Whether that means I'll actually find out anything, I don't know,"

Andrew nodded and smiled, "At least she agreed, right,"

"Yeah," I mumbled, automatically taking his hand.

We walked back to the lunch hall together, and were met by Elizabeth and Tom, who had been on a- as Anna would've put it- boring and very shitty romantic stroll.

"Hey guys," Elizabeth grinned at us.

"Hey," Andrew and I mumbled simultaneously.

"Where did you guys just come from?" Elizabeth asked.

"Is this going to become the next biggest gossip on campus- Emma and Andrew's life story?" I retorted sarcastically, "Because I'm not too keen on everyone knowing my name,"

Elizabeth shrugged, "Too late. After the whole Anna-hacked-into-Meryl's-account thing, everyone already knows you. So what were you doing?"

"Talking to Meryl about something," I answered evasively

Elizabeth didn't get the hint, "Ooooooh! Were you in trouble?" She raised her eyebrows curiously, "I haven't heard anything about that yet,"

I rolled my eyes at her, "No, I wasn't in trouble. And no, I won't tell you why I saw Meryl because then you will tell the world. Only Anna and Andrew know," I admitted.

Andrew frowned, "Well, in that case, Dan'll know too,"

"So Liam will have found out somehow, which means I am being left out here!" Tom objected.

"Sheesh! You guys are _boys_," Elizabeth tutted, "You don't gossip! You play football or whatever,"

"So... where are Anna and Dan now?" I asked, not really out of curiosity- I could probably guess within three tries- just to make conversation.

"Oh, last time I saw them, they were sitting discussing Anna's punishment. Dan was reminding her she still needed to write that weird thing down, and she was telling she's do it later. I think Dan went off with Liam to have some guy-time or whatever, and Anna went off to her room to hideaway like she normally does," Elizabeth shrugged.

"Mmm hmmm," I mumbled, not willing to admit I'd taken in next to nothing of what Elizabeth had just said.

I was usually the one who paid attention, but, since yesterday, I'd been spacing out a lot. Fortunately for me, not many people tended to notice.

I sighed and looked out around the campus.

"So, what is your plan for the day?" Elizabeth demanded, "Because we barely talked yesterday and I want three months worth of gossip,"

I suppressed a grin- typical Elizabeth.

"Well, first of all, I was going to see Raine and talk about all things non-gossipy," I aimed a glance at her, "Think you can manage that?"

Elizabeth sighed like it was painful to even consider any of this, "If I have to,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 41<p>

Six Months Ago

She ran through the house, dodging obstacles at speed. Behind her, she could hear the thunder of footsteps and an occasional cry of indignity. She reached the front door and yanked at the handle. Locked.

It's the backdoor then, she thought to herself.

She raced back through the house, the darkness disguising any movement she made, and the voices of several angry men masking the sound of her footsteps. She burst through another door and found herself in an office of some sort. The backdoor was right in front of her, but, she realised with a groan, there wasn't a key in the lock.

And they won't have left it open anyway, she added to herself.

Turning around, she pulled open the draws on the desk behind her and rifled through them hurriedly. She was counting on the sheer size of the house to gain her time. However, size could not compete with obvious facts- there were only two ways out of the house you could take if you wanted to be able to get up and walk away. The front door and the back door. So she was going to have to count on the men's stupidity, too.

Finally, she located the key. She stepped away from the desk, but found herself unable to move further. There was information here. Information she could _use_. She grabbed the laptop from the desk, and pulled out files from the draws.

Anything I can't take, she promised to herself, I'll burn.

Quickly, she stuffed as much as possible- including the laptop- into her backpack, and then produced a lighter from her pocket. Knowing that her time was almost gone, she lit a piece of paper and placed it carefully next to the massive pile she had gathered on the floor.

Before the fire could really take hold, she had unlocked the backdoor, and made her escape.

By the time the fire inside the house had been put out, the girl was merely a silhouette against the early morning sky...

Four Months Ago

Karlie looked around nervously. She tapped her fingers against her leg and nodded to herself. Waiting until no one was looking, she walked across the street and into the abandoned building in front of her.

She shut the door carefully behind her and looked around the room. It was very empty, with only a stack of wood in the corner and a mouldy mattress next to the door. The walls were plain and crumbling, the floor was covered in chipped tiles.

Warily, she pulled her backpack off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor.

"Don't. Move." A voice hissed from behind her.

Karlie whirled around, cursing, to see a young man, maybe twenty-five years old, standing guard over the door.

"Who are you?" She snapped, retreating hastily, looking scared. She was actually looking for her backpack. Her fingers found the top of it, "What do you want?"

"We want you to stop what you're doing," The man replied calmly, but with a tone of authority. He had seen her reach for her backpack. He knew she would try to escape, "I know Judo, Martial Arts, Karate and Tae Kwando, and could have you lying on the floor, writhing in pain before you'd have taken a step further," He warned.

"I guess that's why you're so muscled and all," Karlie drawled sarcastically, letting just a hint of her American accent sound in her voice, "However," She sighed, putting her hands on her hips, "You can't move a muscle with a gun aimed at your head," Karlie whipped out a revolver and held it up, clicking off the safety, "And I've got one pointed straight at you,"

The man laughed, albeit slightly uneasily, "You don't even know how to shoot,"

Karlie relaxed her stance a bit, and lowered the gun. She shot him in the knee. He screamed in pain and collapsed on the floor.

"Before you bastards killed my Mom and Dad, they used to teach me how to defend myself. It's called using a gun," She shouted at him, then leaned in close, "You're the messenger, right? Well, I've got a message for your _boss_," She said the word mockingly, "I will hunt down and kill every single one of you without _blinking_ for what you did to my family. I will make you _pay_. I. Hate. You." She hissed.

Karlie stood back up and grabbed her backpack. Shoving her gun back into her waistband, she stepped around the man and out of the door.

"I'll call an ambulance in half an hour. I hope you beg for it every minute you have to wait," She spat at him.

One Month Ago

Karlie snuck across the park and into the woods at the edge. Quietly, she hoisted herself into the lower branches, to where she'd left her stuff. She grabbed her sleeping bag and slid inside gratefully. Before she fell asleep, she checked she was properly tied into the tree and wouldn't fall out.

It was a matter of seconds after her head touched the pillow that she was asleep.

Karlie was jolted awake by the sound of police sirens. It was morning. Sitting up carefully, she spotted a police car parked in the lay-by at the opposite side of the park. Two police officers were stepping out and heading towards the woods.

Karlie wasn't taking chances- she jumped out of her sleeping bag and frantically shoved it into her backpack. Before she was even fully awake, she had fled into the woods. Panicking, she ran around trees, her breath coming in short ragged bursts. She had to think.

There was a 50/50 chance the police would catch up with her. If they did, she was a runaway, a possible foreign immigrant and was in possession of firearms- her gun. She had to ditch it, before they caught her. The gun would be the final straw. She could possibly bluff it out if they caught up with her, but if they found the gun, she was in trouble.

However, if she didn't get caught, she'd need the gun still. She tugged it out of her waistband and looked around. Up ahead, she spotted a rabbit hole, and paused for only a second to slip the gun into the hole and hide it as best she could, before running on.

They got her five minutes later, when she tripped over a dead branch. She lay on the ground, hearing the footsteps on the ground behind her, and knowing it was over.

They would argue for the next few hours over what to do with her, but, eventually, she'd be sent to a care home, where anyone could catch up with her, and everyone would stop her from continuing to fight against _them_.

It was over. Everything she had worked towards was over...

* * *

><p>Chapter 42~Anna<p>

I tromped grumpily down the stairs, a sheet of paper in my hand. Well, it was a two sided sheet, to be quite precise. And it was A4. And it held all the 'basic tips of how to hack' or whatever on it.

Dan met me on the stairs, having obviously come looking for me, "Hey Anna! What's with the grouchy look?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"My wonderful essay Meryl had me write," I told him, "It's nothing you'd want to read,"

"No- it looks too long," Dan replied sarcastically, inspecting the paper in my hands. Or at least trying to, but failing, since the sheet was folded into about... maybe a fifteenth of its normal size, and I had crammed it into my hand.

"It took me a whole... five minutes to write!" I complained.

"Right." Dan gave me a so-don't-believe-you look, "Because it takes five minutes to write a double sided page on hacking,"

I gave Dan a does-it-look-like-I-give-a-shit-whether-you-believe-me-or-not look.

Dan shrugged at me, "I can't help it if you lie all the time," He told me.

"I don't lie! I exaggerate profoundly!" I argued.

"Of course, of course, I see the _massive_ difference now," Dan rolled his eyes.

"It did only take me five minutes!" I growled.

"Can I see it then? As proof you actually _did_ it?" Dan asked.

"Nope, you can see my essay when Meryl does, and I'm on my way to give it to Meryl now," I told him, "Tag along if you want to,"

"Ok then, will do," Dan sighed, as we reached the second floor.

Suddenly, we came face-to-face with a grumpy looking girl in an orange t-shirt.

"Ok. Where am I?" She demanded at us.

"Can't talk to orange!" Dan chanted immediately, and dragged on my arm, trying to pull me away.

"Sheesh! Relax Dan! It's not as if she's gonna _kill_ us or anything. She _could_ bite, but I doubt it," I considered.

"_She_ has a name, does not like being talked about, and wants to know what the _hell_ is going on," The girl growled.

"I want never gets!" I almost sang, "I actually hate that saying. It's very annoying. Mostly I punch people who say it," I sighed, thinking back to when a nerdy twerp two years below had told me that at one of my school's Christmas fairs, where I'd been demanding some more of the chocolate for the chocolate fountain. I'd ended up punching the annoying sod in the nose.

"Anna!" Dan hissed.

"Oooh! Look out! She knows my name now!" I gasped in mock horror.

"It's Karlie, not _she_ or _her_, by the way," The girl snapped.

"Oh! Nice to meet you Karlie. I'd shake your hand but that's annoyingly formal and no one with a brain does it. The prime minister does, but he doesn't have any brains so that's ok!"

"Yeah, that's nice, but could you tell me where the hell I am now? Or is it can't speak to orange again. I've had that shit twenty times already today," Karlie persisted.

"Well, actually, I _am_ supposed to say can't talk to orange but I find it enjoyable to break rules," I shrugged, "Go to the ground floor and talk to the receptionist. Well, don't talk- she'll only interrupt you, but that's beside the point,"

"I'd say thank you, but I wouldn't mean it, so you're stuck with 'appreciated to a miniscule degree'," Karlie shrugged.

"Well then, you're welcome to a non-existent degree. I don't really do welcoming. It's boring. Now, kicking people _out_ that I am good at _and_ enjoy," I rambled on.

Dan rolled his eyes and Karlie gave us a curt nod as she headed back down the corridor to the lifts.

I turned to Dan, "Do you reckon we could really freak her out by running down the stairs and arriving before she does?" I asked him mischievously.

Dan frowned, as if wondering whether it was worth the possible broken neck you could get from tripping down too many stairs. Evidentially, he decided it was, as he set off for the stairs immediately.

We raced down as quickly as possible and skidded to a stop outside the elevator on the ground floor. We both leaned against the wall looking bored.

The lift _ping_ed and the doors opened.

Karlie stepped out, giving us a suspicious, glance, then walked over to the receptionist, who interrupted her before she had even started speaking, "Go through that door," She instructed, or something along the lines of that.

I hadn't heard, because I couldn't be bothered to listen.

"Come on," I told Dan, "I've gotta show Meryl my masterpiece, remember?"

Dan nodded and we headed off to Meryl's office. I knocked on the door and we waited until we heard Meryl call; "Come in," before walking in.

"Ah, Anna, Dan," Meryl greeted us, "I presume you have the two pages of instructions with you then?" Meryl asked.

"Uh huh, right here!" I told her cheerfully, producing the very much folded piece of paper.

With a flourish, I began unfolding it, careful not to rip any pages. I handed it to Meryl, who took it off me and looked at it.

"Anna, this is a piece of paper with your mobile phone number written in massive writing with several lines underneath it on one side, and 'use your brain, you morons' on the other," Meryl sighed.

I grinned triumphantly, "I know, and, according to your little guidelines, I am completely in the right. You said _two A4 pages_ on how to hack. Well, using your brain is how you hack. And my phone number, as you specified, is _detailed_ as well as _basic_," I told her.

"How will this help anyone?" Meryl sighed.

"Ah, well, the object was not to _help_ anyone, it was to write two _A4 pages_ with _detailed yet basic ideas on how to hack_," I replied smugly, unable to stop myself from rubbing it in, "And anyway, the mobile number should help. They get stuck, they ring me. They explain their situation, I tell them to get a life, learn how to hack then tell them what to do along with a few more insults,"

Meryl look vaguely irked at the fact that I'd wormed my way out of her specially devised punishment. Well, maybe _vaguely_ was an understatement.

"Ok, Anna, I won't punish you, but next time..." Meryl threatened.

"Right-o!" I smiled mockingly at her and skipped happily from the room, Dan trailing behind.

* * *

><p>Until next time!<p> 


	14. Paintball Vengeance

ahhhh here we go! The next few chapters are posted!

* * *

><p>Chapter 42~Anna<p>

Tuesdays... generally very boring. Especially when you have nothing to do.

Luckily for me, I have plenty; hang out with friends, meet Emma's new friends from Basic Training (it's weird to think, but my weird, nerdy sister may possibly have more friends than me right now... nah- that's just... too weird...), find out how to hack a nonexistent site- I hadn't really had time to do anything since my conversation with Emma...- contemplate whether or not Meryl or Mac found out about my forbidden chat with that orange-shirt Karlie, and pondering over the complicated feelings I suddenly had for Dan.

Ok, just ignore that last one- it is incredibly unnecessary. But otherwise, I had plenty to do. Ish. Ok, not a lot. I don't count thinking as something to do. At all. So that crosses off everything apart from hanging out, meeting Emma's friends and hacking. I scowled at the ceiling and whistled randomly, contemplating getting up and doing something (like swimming, or practising karate, or running, to get ready for Basic Training) but decided I really couldn't be bothered. Life's too short to do shit like that. Having said that, life is also too short to sit around contemplating. In other words; I should probably get off my lazy arse and do something. Probably being the operative word in that sentence.

I turned back to my laptop and glared at it, daring it to hack into MI6 and get me the information I wanted without me putting in any effort. My glares achieved nothing- the computer was also telling me to get off my last arse and do something. Damn computers.

"If you want it that way!" I snapped at it, "I'll go sit with computers of a higher intellect!"

Meaning, of course, the even crappier computers in the ICT rooms.

My laptop didn't say anything in return, so we parted with a glare from me and the silent treatment from... it.

Great, I thought, stomping down the corridor, I am having an argument with my laptop. Clearly, I am being overworked here. I need to find someone to complain to about this!

I arrived at one of the ICT rooms and chose a random computer in a far corner, logging into Liam's user account, just because I'm overly paranoid. Tapping the keys lightly, I pondered over Emma's words about the start up programmes thingies. Cautiously, I began clicking. Then typing, then frowning. And then cursing. Quietly, mind.

"Work you pathetic computer!" I growled.

I heard a, "It can't hear you, you moron, it's not a living thing," This was accompanied by a sniff that I had come to know- and hate- so well.

"It can't hear you, it's not a living thing," I repeated to myself, "Hopefully if I am quiet it will stop sniffing and go away, even though it isn't alive,"

Of course, you know I was referring to Sandi not the computer.

"Fine then, be like that!" Sandi sniffed.

"Oh, good it appears to have gone. Maybe someone disposed of it," I said loudly, before turning back to my computer and continuing to scroll through the default programmes that had now decided to load.

After a few seconds, I got up and grabbed a random pen that was lying on the front desk and some paper from the recycling bin. I popped back to the computer, grinning slightly as I saw Sandi leaving grumpily. Quickly, I started to scribble down the programmes and everything I could find else.

Ten minutes later I had deserted my computer, leaving Liam still logged in (simply because you can't log into two computers at the same time and it would take him ages to find that one and be able to log himself off).

I jogged back up to my room, deciding that it wasn't worth risking the lift, and started up my laptop, looking over the list of programmes on it. Before I could do anything, my door burst open and several people fell inside. I shoved the piece of paper into my pocket and turned to glare at my intruders.

"The door was shut for a reason," I growled, annoyed at being interrupted.

Elizabeth, Tom, Dan, Andrew, Liam, Emma, the girl who was with Emma from Basic Training and I can't remember the name of, another girl from Basic Training whose name I can remember because her brother is very annoying and called Zack (it's Tess, by the way, but you guys probably already know that), and a third girl from Emma's Basic Training that I'd never met in my life. And Gabby and Flo.

"And this room," I went on, "Is not made for fifty people, so get out and come back when there are less of you. I'm not being nice, I know, it's this thing that happens whenever I was doing something highly secretive and incredibly important and then get interrupted. I also tend to babble a lot and make no sense at all, but who cares about that?"

I was met with silence and a load of confused looks.

"Great! Now, if you'll excuse me I have a certain incredibly important thing to be getting on with," I told them, not wanting to do anything other than to get back to the default programmes.

"Anna, chill out, we're only going to invade your personal space until we can convince you to go paintballing with us," Dan rolled his eyes.

"Oh good, now that you've tried, could you please go away?" I asked grouchily, sensing that if I gave in and went I wouldn't get back to my laptop for the rest of the day.

"Nope, stop being anti-social, Anna," Emma tutted.

"I'll have you know I am the most popular member of the HSTDRE," I said haughtily.

"What the hell's a HS... thingie?" Liam demanded.

"Hacking Society That Doesn't Really Exist," I replied.

Gabby looked confused, "Wait... so does that mean you just made the HST... crappy thing up? Or is it real but no one knows about it?"

"Yup," I grinned, just to be confusing.

"It doesn't exist, Gabby," Dan sighed, "Anna just made it up because she's being difficult,"

"Yup, I did, I admit it, but hey? What can go wrong when you're possibly the best hacker in the country and definitely the best hacker in CHERUB?"

"Full of yourself much?" Emma asked.

"Nope, just stating the truth. Just like Elizabeth could say that she's the girl who gossips the most on campus and we'd all have to agree," I shrugged.

"She has a point," Elizabeth agreed, grinning.

"Hey! I wouldn't have to agree about you being good at anything!" Liam snapped.

I could tell that he was determined to get me back after the email thing.

"You would, Liam, because if you go and try to log into your account right now, you'll get a message saying you're logged in somewhere else," I retorted.

"What? You know Liam's password?" Dana and Tom gawped in unison.

Liam scowled viciously at me. I pretended to look guilty, "Yeah, I forgot to log you off, sorry! And now I can't remember which computer I used..."

"I knew she had Andrew's password," Dan was admitting to Tom, "But I never knew she had _Liam's_,"

"Hey!" Andrew frowned, "How the hell did you get my password?"

"Ways and means, Andrew, ways and means," I said mysteriously.

Emma leaned in close to me and whispered subtly, "It is quite possible that you are the only one in the whole of the campus that can change a conversation topic so easily,"

"It is easy though," I whispered back, "Just say something completely outrageous that you know they'll all disagree with and BAM! You've got a changed subject,"

Emma grinned slightly, "I'll have to try that sometime," She glanced at the three girls mooching in the hallway, "That one's Raine- you kinda met her when we got back. And that's Tess, and the other girls Lilly,"

"Hello, Raine, Tess and Lilly, nice to meet you and all," I greeted them, adding a mock salute to the end.

"Good to meet you too," Tess nodded, "So can we please go paintballing now?" She asked loudly, so that she got everyone's attention.

"Nope, sorry, I'm having a night in," I shrugged apologetically, "Maybe... like, three weeks time?"

"Then you'll be in Basic Training, Anna, so, no, you're not going to have a night in," Dan pointed out.

"Says who? I can stay in if I want to," I snapped immediately.

"You do realise, Anna, that there are, what? Eleven of us, and one of you?"

"Yes, I do, which is why I am going to go find something to tie myself to the chair with," I told him, looking around the room for anything rope like.

All eleven of them crossed their arms with annoying simultaneousness. It was also slightly weird and a tad freaky.

"Preferably very quickly," I muttered to myself.

"We could just... carry her or something?" Suggested Emma with a grin.

"Now _that_ is mean," I told her, grabbing my laptop off the desk- I wasn't leaving it in reach of them.

"You could get us back when we're paintballing," Elizabeth shrugged.

"Or you could just paintball between yourselves and give me no reason to," I said hopefully, backing off slightly.

Dan leaned over to Emma, "How many people do you reckon we'd need to carry her?"

"Um, one, I'm right here, two, you're not carrying me anywhere, and three, I'm not _that_ heavy," I scowled.

Dan grinned, knowing I had just giving him a challenge, even if it wasn't on purpose. Dan was like me in that way- our immediate reaction to being told we can't do something, is to do it.

"Seriously, I don't think my dignity is gonna come out of this unscathed," I muttered.

"Yup, 'cos you'll be fleeing from a bunch of kids, and all of them except two have completed Basic Training," Elizabeth added.

"Ouch," I muttered, stepping around the bed and making sure it was between me and them. Unfortunately that then meant that the bed and they were between me and the door. For now, at least, I still had enough dignity not to lock myself in my en suite.

"Now would be a good time to give up and come quietly," My sister advised with a grin.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I sighed, "You're supposed to be nice and older-sisterly,"

"And you're supposed to be sweet and cute and younger-sisterly," Emma countered, suppressing her grin slightly.

"That's Gabby's job! My job is to be annoying and point out all the flaws in anything you say!" I argued.

"Hey! I am not being brushed off with the cute and cuddly! Arron can have that! I'm the younger sister that looks innocent and no one suspects of anything!" Gabby snapped.

"That would be kinda disturbing, actually," Flo muttered.

"Yeah. It would freak me out a lot, actually, and I'm not even related to him," Dan agreed.

There were quite a few other nods at that. Emma, realising that I may just have managed to change the subject and escape gave me a withering look. I grinned smugly, and mouthed, "Just say something completely outrageous that you know they'll all disagree with and BAM! You've got a changed subject," Back at her.

If Emma had been anything like me, then in that moment, she would've stuck her finger up at me. Fortunately for the younger siblings around, she just shook her head with an emotion somewhere between disapproval and awe.

Shifting slightly, I hid my (well, _our_, technically, even though Emma had agreed I could keep the laptop temporarily) laptop under the bed (a place so obvious it becomes unobvious) and prepared to leg it as fast as I could.

While the others were still discussing how weird a cute, cuddly Arron would be, I darted over the bed, shoved past them and down the corridor, cackling madly as I did. What can I say? I have a tendency to be melodramatic.

Chapter 43~Emma

Anna cackled as she ran from the room, leaving us all in a state of confusion. I shook my head again, partly in awe, party out of amusement at everyone else's faces. If Anna ever had her cover blown on a mission –if she got any before she got too old- then there would be no doubt she would be able to get away. She was just too weird for anyone to be able to focus on the job at hand. After a second, Dan frowned.

"You know, I believe your sister has just successfully evaded eleven people, nine of which, as Elizabeth so smugly pointed out half a minute ago, have completed Basic Training," Dan sighed, "She's good,"

Liam sat up, and I almost laughed as I saw the bruise already forming on his forehead. Evidentially, Anna had pushed his head into a wall or something similar, "No, she's not good, she's dead when we finally get her to go paintballing,"

Andrew leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "Liam's the under sixteen champion at paintballing on campus. Anna, I'm sorry to say, is dead,"

"I wouldn't count on it- she might never have done paintballing before in her life, but Anna's pretty inventive when she wants to be," I replied, smiling at the many whacky things my sister had done over the years, simply to avoid getting punished- she didn't mind the getting into trouble part.

Before Andrew could reply, Tom had helped Liam up.

"Should we go after her?" He asked, "I mean, is it worth running all around campus to find her, just for a game of paintball?"

Raine, Tess and Lilly were getting to their feet too, but seemed relatively unscathed- they didn't have a massive bruise on their foreheads like Liam did, at least.

Dan grinned, "Yes, it is- Anna and I went paintballing once- she's wicked at it. Well- she can't aim to save her life but she still managed to ground every person on the other team in under five minutes,"

"Is that even possible?" Liam gawped, a hint of jealousy in his voice, "How come she gets to be good at _everything_?"

"Um, hello? I just told you she can't aim to save her life, Liam," Dan rolled his eyes.

"Well, I would run all over campus with you, but I just did my nails," Elizabeth shrugged.

"How can your nails affect your running?" Flo demanded.

"They don't," Elizabeth sighed, "So, do you mind if I wait while you guys collect Anna?"

"If she's bailing out of running after one of the fastest girls in our year, so am I," Tom said immediately.

"Us too!" Gabby and Flo added.

Lilly and Tess shrugged, "If you don't mind, we'll go with you- we've had enough running for a lifetime,"

Andrew looked at me, "What do you want to do?"

I considered for a second, "I might not have my sister's endurance but I can still run fast, and I have been waiting for humiliation to catch up with my sister for a long time,"

Dan smiled slightly, "Of course, the chances are, it'll be us ending up humiliated and she'll get away fine,"

Elizabeth stood up and took Tom's hand, heading out of the room and down to the paintballing area or whatever it was called- I'd never been there before, obviously. Gabby and Flo followed.

"Sheesh, all this fuss for a game of paintball," Liam sighed.

"You just don't want to be beaten, that's all!" Dan retorted, "Where do you think Anna will have gone?" He frowned.

"Yeah, we've probably given her plenty of time to hide," Raine pointed out.

"Somewhere unexpected," I said, "It's what Anna does- she chooses the place your least likely to look,"

"So... the dining hall?" Andrew suggested.

I shrugged- it would be unexpected to find her sitting and eating.

"The boys' toilets?" Liam snickered.

"That is just sick and immature, Liam," I told him witheringly.

"The ICT room perhaps? Or the library?" Dan proposed.

"Well, let's start checking the rooms then! I kind of agree with Liam though," Andrew added, "It does seem a waste if we spend the next hour or so searching for Anna,"

"It'll be worth it if we do find her," Dan promised.

"I think we should have an all against her contest- see how long she lasts then," Liam growled, clearly still jealous that she was so good.

"You can mate, but I'm not suicidal- I'm going with her," Dan told him.

"If she lets you- she might not be feeling so kind if you drag her kicking and screaming," I told him, smiling slightly.

"Well then, I'm screwed," Dan shrugged, and set off out of the room running.

We jogged after him, taking the stairs slowly so we didn't trip.

"We should probably try everyone's rooms, too," Raine suggested to Dan, "Because you wouldn't expect her to be there,"

Of course, if we'd all thought about it a bit harder, we would have realised that there was one place we would never have dreamed she would be- the paintball range itself. But we didn't think of that one, and spent the next half hour looking everywhere but there.

Chapter 44~Anna

I'd grabbed a face mask, some gloves, plenty of ammunition and a paintball gun thing as I'd gone in, and was now hiding high up in a tree, camouflaged by leaves and branches. Below, several metres away, I could hear Elizabeth, Tom, Tess, Lilly, Gabby and Flo, sitting talking, and waiting for the others to come back with me. Suckers.

The only downside was that I was in a t-shirt and three quarter shorts- if I got hit by a stray paintball, it'd hurt quite a bit. The silver lining to that was that no one knew I was up here and it would be relatively easy to eliminate them all and complete my master plan (get both flags before either team could).

Silently, I tried to brainstorm ideas on how to get them all out of my way, find out where both flags were and possibly find some less noticeable clothes (a light blue training t-shirt wasn't really good camouflage. Unfortunately, most of my ingenious methods came to me seconds before I was about to be killed/massively humiliated so my brainstorming wasn't getting very far. I decided I'd just have to stick with the t-shirt I had, and maybe spread some slime over it when I got the chance- as longs as it would all wash off later, I would be fine.

Finally, after a good while, I heard Emma, Andrew, Raine, Liam and Dan arrive, a bit put off by being unable to find me. It was getting slightly darker now, which would work to my advantage, as it was about seven in the evening, and the sun was going down.

They split off into groups, deciding very conveniently to discuss this only a few metres away from me. Emma, Elizabeth, Andrew, Tom and Tess were on one side, and Raine, Lilly, Liam, Dan, Gabby and Flo were on the other.

They scattered to opposite sides of the arena place to get ready, and, after a few minutes of silence, I dropped down from my tree and scooped up some mud, thankful that it had rained earlier today. Quickly, I caked my t-shirt in it and moved away from the tree, making sure my mask was secure. It was.

I jogged slowly and cautiously to the left- down to Emma's side of the arena, taking care that I could see well ahead of me, in case someone started running out to meet the other team or whatever.

I had nearly reached Emma's end of the arena when Liam shouted loudly; "Are you ready?"

There was a chorus of yes' from a few metres away.

"Go!" Liam shouted, and everyone started to run forward, straight past my hiding place, where I'd dived to when I'd heard Liam. I counted five figures running past. That was everyone then. Smiling to myself, I crept forward, keeping a lookout for everyone. I spotted the flag up ahead, and there was no one around that I could see.

I darted forward until I was behind a bush, a metre away from the flag. I wasn't going to let anyone spot me and give the game away- it would be more amusing if both sides couldn't find the other's flag and no one realised that they had been stolen.

Checking again, I saw that there was no one doubling back to guard the flag, and no one from the other team either. I swiped the flag. It was dark blue, and, because the flag pole had been long ago broken, was hanging from a branch. I tucked the material through the belt loops in my shorts and moved away quickly, amazed that I'd been able to get the flag so easily. I darted back through the trees, but stopped almost immediately, sliding under a bush.

Up ahead, I spotted Andrew, sitting in a tree, paintball gun poised, ready to shoot anyone heading towards the flag. He was barely visible, and I certainly wouldn't have noticed him if I'd been running the other way. Looking around, I spotted Tom, a little further away, on lookout duty, just like Andrew. These two would be hard to slip past.

Cautiously, I eased forward, waiting for a good moment, and realising there wasn't going to be one. I held up my gun, and pointed it at in the direction I was heading. I didn't bother with exact aims- what was the point of them? As long as I got a general direction, my shots did exactly what I needed them too. I pulled the trigger and an ear-splitting BANG echoed in the space around me.

Andrew and Tom jumped to attention, and pulled up their guns, staring at the space ahead of them. So neither of them noticed me sneak underneath Andrew's tree and climb stealthily up behind him. I was so close I could hear him breathing. Quickly but carefully, I checked his pockets, seeing which had his ammo in, and, with an ease that I'd never had before, pick pocketed him, and dropped him ammo quietly on the ground, putting a crumpled up piece of paper in his pocket instead.

Admittedly, it was the list of the default computer programmes, but this was vengeance I wanted, and I could always redo the list later. I slipped out of the tree, and kicked all of Andrew's ammo, scattering it, then sent another shot out the way I'd come, so that, if Tom had stopped being so focussed on the path ahead, his full attention was on it again.

I repeated the process with Tom, only this time, replacing his ammo with a packet of chewing gum. I'd reclaim it later. I scattered his ammo too, then, tucking myself right up next to the tree, shot behind me.

Andrew and Tom cussed in unison, and tried to turn around in the tree, to see how anyone had got past them. I ran for it.

Up ahead, I could begin to hear the gun shots and the shouting, so decided to stick to the arena wall and stay as quiet as possible.

I passed by the majority of the others with ease- they were too busy dodging shots and firing at the other team to notice me, covered in mud, twenty metres from the side in the growing darkness of the evening.

I skirted around Gabby and Flo, who were presumably supposed to be guarding the flag, but were playing rock, paper, scissors instead.

Finally, after another two minutes of being stealthy and quiet, I spotted the end of the arena, and the flag. Unfortunately for me, this lot had decided to step up their guard a bit more, and Liam was standing in front of the flag, eyes trained on the trees around him. I crouched down, trying to figure out how to get past Liam and to the flag, which was still hanging from a partially broken pole, and was dark green. I bit my lip and thought harder.

This wasn't like the last time I had played- that was just shoot everyone down on sight and reach the other side (we'd varied the rules a bit because none of us could be bothered with the flags). Once everyone from one team was either tied up or unable to move, or one whole team had reached the opposite side, the game had been won.

This game, however, required a bit more subtlety- which I didn't have- as if my master plan was to work, no one should know the flags were gone. If I knocked out Liam, or tied him up, it would kind of give the game away.

I considered all of this carefully, then started to creep forward, dividing my attention between where I was going, and the pattern I was beginning to make out in Liam's 'random' scanning of the space around him.

First, he would look to his left, opposite from where I was, then he would look up, and check the branches of the trees around him, to make sure no one was trying to climb over him (which would be virtually impossible to do anyway), then he would look straight ahead, then to the right. However, rather than going immediately back to the left, he went back to looking forward, then up, then left, before the process repeated itself. If I was going to get past, I would have to wait until he'd turned to look up in the trees, just after he'd looked right (towards where I was). That would hopefully give me anything from fifteen seconds to thirty seconds, which didn't really feel like a lot of time. The plus was that Liam never once looked behind him.

Liam looked straight ahead, and I prepared to run, moving from a crouch to a half-crouch half-standing position. Liam looked right. I leaned forward, tensing my legs slightly, taking a deep breath. Liam looked up. I set off, jogging a further ten metres to his right, so I would be hopefully be past the very edge of his peripheral vision. Liam looked straight forward. I compared the distance and decided I should probably add in another five metres. Liam looked left. I sprinted forward, diving into some bushes as quietly as possible.

I lay there for a few minutes, calming down a bit, and trying to catch a glimpse of Liam, to make sure he was still looking forward and that he hadn't spotted me.

I decided he hadn't and crawled out from under the bush, silently moving to the flag and pulling it off the pole, less than a metre behind Liam. I pulled it through my belt loops, like I had done with the other flag, and was backing away again, but, suddenly, I had an idea. Scooping up some leaves, I leaned forward, barely daring to breathe, and swapped his ammo for a bunch of leaves.

Deciding that I'd had my fun, I moved to his right, until I reached the arena wall. While I waited for Liam to look left again, I chucked the ammo on the ground. Liam looked left, and I sprinted full out, not bothering to stop until I spotted Gabby and Flo up ahead again.

Once again, I skirted around the two of them leaving them their ammo because the pick pocketing could only work so many times, and well, I was saving those times for everyone else (the end result; two eight year olds with ammo, everyone else with pocketfuls of leaves). Of course, my plan could only work if everyone was standing still, as I couldn't exactly pickpocket them by standing in front of them, and I wasn't good enough for anything more than the basics.

Luckily for me, I managed to get my own back on Dan, Elizabeth, Emma, Raine and Lilly. Tess, however, evaded me every step of the way- she never stopped moving! I deemed my work done for the day and took my leave before anyone realised they had run out of paint.

Outside the arena I pulled of my mask and gloves and dunked my ammo and gun. I pulled out the two flags and placed the two of them on the ground, overlapping each other. I stood back to appreciate it for a second, then went off to find leaves. True to my form of immaturity, I turned up a few minutes later and arranged my pile of leaves in the shape of an A. It was wet enough from the rain earlier today, and the wind wasn't too strong, so the flags and the leaves would stay that way at the least long enough for the others to notice them when they came out.

Happily, I jogged back to my room, gathering a few funny looks from other people, and took a long shower, shoving my dirty clothes aside and pulling on some clean, identical ones because I felt like being difficult and making them all question whether I had been at the arena or not.

It was another two hours before they turned up, muddy, grumpy and annoyed with me, at my door.


	15. Revenge Is Satisfactory For Others

I know, it's been a while since I last posted. I would've posted yesterday, but I was at the big gig, so you know.

That probbably doesn't mean a lot to any of you, unless you go to Guides... I'm guessing none of you do...

But anyway, there's this big event thing called the Big Gig and all us guides (well, virtually all of us guides) go to it and there's all these bands and stuff.

The Wanted were there. And Pixie Lott. And Olly Murs. And Ed Sheeran. And Parade.

It was immense.

Truly.

And now!

On with the story!

* * *

><p>Chapter 46~Anna<p>

"Oh, hi guys!" I grinned cheerfully, putting down my English book (I'd forgotten about my laptop and the default programmes, and had decided that if I had nothing else to do, I may as well do my homework. I was obviously feeling a little ill). "Did you enjoy your paintballing?"

"No. _Someone_ stole the flags," Liam huffed crossing his arms.

"Oh. That sucks. Well, I'm glad I wasn't dragged down there then- I would've had to listen to even more of your complaining,"

"And that same _someone_ nicked all of our ammo and replaced it with chewing gum, a piece of paper and some leaves!" Emma complained at me, "Whoever it was is _very_ immature,"

I shrugged, "I'm sure whoever it was were simply getting their own back and found this mildly amusing, now will you all go away and take long showers, please? You stink,"

Dan was struggling not to laugh at all of this, as were Gabby, Flo and Tess, who, clearly thought the whole thing more than amusing. I suppose if you'd had enough ammo to last the game, it would be, but if you'd ran out and kept getting shot at still, it would be less so. Dan was just being abnormal. Although, actually, I think Elizabeth might have been laughing slightly.

"Strange, isn't it? Because _you_ seem to have wet hair still, as if you'd had a shower because you'd gotten muddy. And the chewing gum was exactly the flavour you usually have, and that list of whatever it was in your handwriting," Tom pointed out accusingly.

"Someone clearly wants to frame me. Wait a few days, and one of you guys will end up dead, with my DNA on the handle of the knife that killed you. That _always_ happens in the films," I told them seriously, "It'll probably be someone I've argued with recently, too, so the most likely candidate is Liam,"

Dan couldn't help it anymore; he burst out laughing. Seconds later, Gabby and Flo joined in.

"How can you guys find this amusing?" Snapped Andrew incredulously.

"Because it kinda is, actually," I told him.

"She has a point- it was kind of our own fault for attempting to drag her paintballing, and when you think about it, it's kinda funny to think she pick pocketed eight people without them realising- all of whom kinda thought we were better than her at this stuff 'cos we've completed Basic Training and she hasn't- then gone on to steal both flags," Tess reflected.

"Precisely! This is the evidence to prove that no matter how much Basic Training you guys have done, I am so much better than you all!" I cheered, at the same time as Dan groaned, "Don't say that! She has a big enough head already!"

"Hey! Come on! I have a right to be bigheaded!" I complained, "It's in my genes! Blame my parental units!"

"No, we blame you, Anna," Emma growled, "For ruining our game because some injured pride and feeling very tedious,"

I looked at her, and sought out the one thing that would annoy her the most, "What does tedious mean?"

"Jesus Christ, Anna! You are the single most annoying person on the planet! Stop. Being. So. Damn. Annoying!"

"Thou shall not use the lord's name in vain," I replied cockily, reciting one of the two ten commandments I actually knew… well, apart from thou shall not kill and thou shall not steal. The second commandment was, of course, thou shall not covert thy neighbour's ox. It's actually a commandment- look it up. I'm serious.

"Shut! Up!" Emma snapped at me.

Tess, Lilly, Raine, Flo and Gabby had given up on the conversation, and were walking down the corridor to their own rooms, deep in discussion over something else. Andrew, as loyal as I'd ever seen him to Emma these past few days, looked vaguely uncomfortable. I guessed the only reason he was staying was for Emma. Tom looked unbothered, Elizabeth clearly wanted gossip, and Liam wanted payback. I had no clue why Dan was still here.

"Come on," He appealed peacefully to Emma, "It was just a game anyway. What does it really matter? We should have expected it anyway- that's what Anna does,"

"And that is what Anna needs to stop doing," Emma scowled.

"Ouch. The talk-about-her-as-if-she's-not-there conversation," I sighed dramatically.

"Someone is going stop get sick of your voice someday and hit you. Hard." Liam glared at me.

"Oh, good! Will it be you? I'll enjoy beating you up a lot, you annoying twerp!" I retorted, sick of his can't-forgive-Anna-for-something-I-started-myself-because-I-couldn't-keep-my-just-as-supposedly-cocky-mouth-shut.

Liam, finally fed up with me, stormed angrily out of my room. I presumed he'd be cooking up some bound-to-fail vengeance plan back in his room.

I turned back to the talk-about-me-as-if-I'm-not-there conversation Emma, Andrew and Dan were having. Evidentially, sisterly-plus-almost-boyfriend-plus-random-best-friend arguments were not interesting enough to sustain Elizabeth's curiosity, as Tom and she had begun their own conversation in the doorway.

"Why are you taking her side anyway?" Andrew was demanding from Dan.

Dan shrugged, "We brought it upon ourselves, and it's actually quite funny. Take it as a joke for once,"

"Or you could take something for real, for once," Emma replied grumpily.

"But that would be boring," I objected, "If you take everything so seriously- like the two of you do, which explains why you make the _perfect_ couple- you will die the second you find out that we're all just programmes in a massive computer system that is a game,"

"... ANNA!" Emma shrieked at me, ready to strangle me.

"... Wha...?" Dan and Andrew asked in unison, "What computer system game?"

"Well, its true, Emma, beyond too many words, it's true. I mean, think about it- no one but Andrew could actually put up with your must-be-too-serious-all-the-time personality, and vice versa. And Dan, Andrew, get with the times! It's been all over the newspaper for the last year! We're all computer programmes," I told them sarcastically.

"If Emma and I make the perfect couple because we take everything 'so seriously'," Andrew started, blushing _a lot_, "Then clearly you and Dan are soul mates through immaturity,"

To my surprise, Dan looked away. I didn't know why. We'd kissed once or twice, but we weren't exactly 'going out'. Emma grinned triumphantly. Andrew was still blushing.

"Uh huh, immaturity rules, Andrew, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone you and your 'so serious' girlfriend are holding hands right now!" I blustered, betting on the fact that every time Emma and Andrew stood next to each other, they held hands behind their backs.

My gamble paid off; Emma and Andrew stepped several meters apart, both blushing furiously.

"Ok, this is just getting into an argument between two couples," Elizabeth sighed from the doorway, "Can you please either make up or _admit_ to liking you 'soul mates' or whatever so I can decree an official status of 'not interested' and move on?"

"Well, that makes things simpler, Emma, Andrew, give up on your hopeless quest to convince everyone else that you don't fancy each other, and Elizabeth will be happy," I told the two of them airily.

"Shut up about me and Andrew!" Emma snapped, "We all know about you and Dan anyway!"

"I am going to kill Liam later," I muttered under my breath, feeling ever so slightly hot, "What _do_ you know about me and Dan?" I asked cooly, despite the fact that I could totally feel myself maybe-possibly blushing for absolutely no reason at all... ish...

"Yeah," Dan added in, "What _do_ you know about Anna and I?"

Unfortunately Emma was not bluffing about 'knowing about me and Dan', "Liam spotted the two of you kissing in the woods the other day!" Emma snapped, arms crossed.

She was met with the should-we-deny-it-or-maybe-just-admit-we-might-kinda-sort-of-like-each-other-even-though-we've-only-kissed-twice-and-are-not-exactly-in-love-over-that-because-that-is-massively-corny silence of two majorly unsure people.

"So you're not denying it, then?" Emma snapped, pleased to have finally gotten the upper hand.

More silence.

"It's true. You two both fancy each other," Emma went on, taunting us now.

Oh, I thought, this is too cruel! It's like she's getting pay back for all of the times I've ever teased her. Or Andrew. And that is a lot of times!

Dan was glaring at my far wall, deliberately ignoring Emma. I decided to glare at the... other wall, since glaring at Emma was a battle I wasn't going to win, and I was not going to glare at the ground and look all humble and defeated.

"Just kiss and get over it then already!" Elizabeth snapped impatiently from the doorway, "Some of us have lives you know!"

I decided that Elizabeth was getting very annoying. This was a very clever statement- not at all obvious- considering the fact that I was also calculating my chances of using brute-force and some very cleverly yelled distractions to kick everyone out of my room. But then, that would be cruel on Dan, who would then have to face all of their questions alone...

"Admit it," Emma pushed, realising that this was one of her few-and-far chances to get vengeance and get away with it, and that she better not waste it.

I stayed silent. Dan... didn't.

"Fine," He sighed, "Anna... I... um... really like you and I think you're really clever and funny and cool," He was bright red.

_I _was speechless. Why exactly was Dan telling me this? I mean _I _liked him, but I wasn't going to publically announce it. And was it even the truth, anyway? Or was he just saying it to get the others to go away?

"Ok, enough, don't let it get to her head!" Emma interrupted Dan's... speech? Declaration? Admission? Lie? I didn't even know what it was!

Dan blushed even harder. Emma and Andrew turned on me.

"So?"

"You are an incredibly nosy, impossibly annoying, hypocritical twin sister, if that's what you wanted to know," I muttered sulkily.

"No, that was not what I wanted to know," Emma sighed, "But if you'd like to admit the obvious and save some of your dignity, then..."

What did _she_ even mean; save some of your dignity? That's, like, a threat against me! Was she gonna dredge up all my childhood (not teenager-hood- I haven't had a crush on anyone in a _long_ time) crushes? Was she really going to sink that low? Seriously?

"Yes, I'm going to sink that low, Anna, because I am sick of you making fun of Andrew and I," Emma told me, knowing what I was thinking.

Well, if she's going to take it _that_ far, I thought to myself, save your dignity and CONFESS!

"Fine!" I snapped, "Dan's great; he's freaking hilarious, I love being around him and he makes everything seem amazingly more interesting when he's around. I'm sure that's exactly how you feel about Andrew, although him and the word _hilarious_ should not be but _near_ each other!"

Before I could allow myself to blush anymore or could even look at Dan, before Emma could act triumphant, or object about Andrew and certainly before Andrew finally picked up the insult and took it _as_ an insult, Elizabeth cheered triumphantly.

"Finally! Now, I'm off to go tell _a lot_ of people about this!" She cheered, darting off with Tom right behind you.

"Elizabeth Limmik! Come back right now before I freaking strangle you!" I shrieked at her, exploding out of my seat, Dan right behind me, equally as furious.

The single most frustrating thing in that moment was my sister's smug smile. Sometimes, I really hated Emma. A lot.

* * *

><p>Chapter 47~Emma<p>

I was woken up the next morning with my phone ringing. Bleary eyed, I crawled out of bed and picked it up.

"Hello?" I mumbled into it, shivering as I fully registered how cold it was outside of my lovely warm bed.

"Emma!" Meryl's fakely cheery voice rang through the phone, the noise making me wince, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to come down to the mission preparation building as soon as possible. We may have a lead on your mother,"

"What?" I nearly shrieked into the phone, but Meryl had already hung up on me.

I stared at the phone for a second, then rang Andrew's number, forgetting, in my haste, that he was probably still asleep.

"Hello?" I mumbled, sounding sleepy.

I winced- this time guiltily- but I couldn't suppress my excitement, "Andrew- Meryl might have found a lead for my Mum! She wants me to come to the mission preparation building as soon as possible!"

Andrew sounded immediately more animated, "That's great, Emma! Do you want me to come with you, or shall I wait until you've gotten back?" He asked.

I felt touched that he was prepared to give up his morning so quickly just for me, but knew he would probably be wanting to get back to bed- it was still quite early, "No, it's ok, Andrew, I'll stop by your room on the way back! I'll see you then!"

"Bye," Andrew murmured.

"Bye!" I cheered back.

There was a few seconds silence, where both of us became unsure over who should hung up, but eventually, just before I did, Andrew did.

I immediately moved into the bathroom and splashed my face with water, trying to wake myself up just a bit more.

As soon as I was dressed, I sprinted down the corridor and made my way over to Meryl's office, in the mission preparation building.

"Come in!" Meryl's voice rang out, as I knocked on the door.

I slipped inside, shut the door behind me and sat down on one of the chairs in front of Meryl, "So... have you found out where my Mum is?" I asked, trying to remain sensible and not run around screaming like a hyper six year old. Because, for the first time in ages, I actually felt like doing that.

Meryl sighed, "Not exactly, Emma, not exactly,"

"Well... what do you mean? What happened?" I asked. Was she dead? Was that what Meryl meant?

Meryl sighed, "We managed, by pure chance, to find some paperwork. Lola got herself aboard a ship, heading to America, a couple of days after Michael's 'death'. The ship she took, _The Shadowy Traveller- _a rather fitting name, considering- stopped off at several different places along the coast of America, however, we've gathered enough information about Lola to know that she would want to get off the boat as soon as possible, but not immediately. Working along the points _The Shadowy Traveller _stopped at, we've narrowed it down, and narrowed it down again. Then we found a single piece of paperwork that might prove it- a newspaper article saying that a local, Mrs Lisston had died, and that her house had been sold onto an Ms W. S. Nomis," Meryl paused and gave me a meaningful glance.

I frowned for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out why this detail was so relevant, then, "S. Nomis!" I cried, "Simons!"

Meryl nodded approvingly, "Apart from that, however, there is very little else to prove that this woman is your mother,"

"So..." I bit my lip, desperately wanting to jump up and demand to be flown to America and go searching for my Mum, but knowing that demanding something from Meryl would not get me anywhere, "Can I go to America? Could I at least attempt to track my Mum down? For a week? Heck, could I just have a _day_ in America? Please!"

Meryl pursed her lips, considering, or at least seeming to, "Emma, I cannot just send you on a trip to America on a whim and a newspaper article. Plus it would be like giving a holiday to one student, but not another. And do you suppose it will only be _you_ who wants to go find your mother? What about Anna, Gabby and Arron?"

I flushed, feeling guilty to have forgotten the others in all the excitement. Although, to be fair, I didn't think Anna would particularly want to 'waste her holidays' (as she would put it) searching for Mum, no matter how she felt about it.

"I can't just sit here now, knowing that my Mum might have no clue where any of us are, or if we're ok! I can't ignore that I know where she is, and she doesn't know where we are!" I very almost whined.

Meryl sighed, holding up one hand to stop my protest/almost whining, "Emma, I may have a... preposition for you. You will get more than enough time to search for your mother, and it will be fair on everyone- your brother and two sisters can't complain about it- however, it might be dangerous, you will need to keep up a continuous act and you will need to play along and make friends with certain people,"

I stared at her, the obvious parts clicking together until I understood what she was telling me, "... You're sending me on a mission?"

"_Only_," Meryl stressed, "If you choose to go- this time, I'm not forcing you into anything,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 48~Emma<p>

I glanced down at my mission briefing, then up at Chloe (the mission controller for this whole mission thing), a boy I vaguely knew from my History class, and a girl I recognised from around campus. Lee and Mel -that was their names.

"We understand this is a bit short notice," Chloe apologised, "But we've been preparing for this mission for just over three months, and, so far, you're really the only one who could pass as a third sibling,"

"So... if I accept, then we're going in _two days_?" I gawped, "How am I supposed to learn all of this?" I held up the heavy wodge of information about the person I was supposed to be- a girl named Libby Hestford.

"If you want to, I can help you out with it," Mel shrugged, "It seems like a lot, but it isn't too hard to memorise it all,"

I scanned through the briefing again, skipping out history, just reading the part about the CHERUB mission.

CHERUB's role is to send in three agents to act as Irene's grandchildren, and infiltrate the local community, trying to gain access to the hacking society that they shield. Agents will not need any hacking skills, although it would be better for agents to know a minimal amount. This mission will last little over a month.

**NOTE: THE CHERUB ETHICS COMMITTEE PASSED THIS MISSION BRIEFING, ON CONDITION THAT ALL AGENTS UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:**

This mission has been classified as **MEDIUM** **RISK**. All agents are reminded of their right to refuse to undertake this mission and to withdraw from it at any time.

It sounded a lot more like a mission for Anna- a secret hacking society- and I got the feeling that if it weren't for the fact that Anna wasn't going to complete Basic Training for at least another three months or so, it would have been her on this mission, not me. On the other hand, this was a chance to actually investigate where my Mum had got to, and I wasn't likely to get another.

"Ok," I suppressed a grin, "I accept. I'll go,"

As soon as I'd left the mission preparation building, I sprinted up to Andrew's room and knocked on the door, almost bursting with excitement. Andrew opened the door immediately.

"I've got a mission!" I squealed at him, throwing my arms around him and hugging him hard.

"That's great, Emma!" Andrew cheered, hugging me back.

Realising that my sudden breakdown to a squealing, babbling idiot was probably worrying Andrew slightly, I pulled back and grinned slightly.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit... well, shocked and surprised. But I've got a mission! After only a few days back!" I told him.

"What's it about? Oh, wait, doesn't matter, you can't tell me, can you?" Andrew sighed, his voice betraying his curiosity.

"Well, if I tell you it's near the place where my Mum supposedly last was, and that it has a tiny bit to do with hacking- so technically, it's more of a mission for Anna, but besides that- it's not really giving too much away,"

Andrew gave me a second hug, "I'm pleased for you! You're gonna do great," He said encouragingly.

"Thanks," I smiled back, feeling less excited and more like my normal, sane self.

Andrew looked around, "We should tell the others, you know!"

I glanced at my watch, "It's only half eight, no one else is going to be up. _You're_ only up because I woke you,"

Andrew smiled a bit, "Well, I suppose we can leave some of them to their beauty sleep, however, it might be funny to wake up some of them,"

"Yeah," I sighed, thinking of one very annoying sister in particular- last night, my email address seemed to have magically changed its password, "I _do_ need to at least find out what my new email password is, although, knowing Anna, it is something highly immature and something I am bound to not approve of,"

Andrew offered a hand, "First though, it might be a good idea to get breakfast," He suggested.

I took his hand, "That would be a good idea. I didn't realise I was hungry until now. I'm not thinking straight,"

We walked off down the corridor, heading towards the stairs.

In the dining hall, we chose our breakfasts- I had bacon, fried egg, cooked tomatoes and mushrooms, toast and orange juice, Andrew had savoury pancakes, with scrambled eggs on toast- and sat down on one of the many empty tables. It was unnaturally early for anyone to get up during a holiday. Only about another five people sat around on the tables eating.

Without the usual numerous amounts of CHERUB agents all sitting, eating and chatting with their friends, the dining hall seemed unnaturally quiet. It was quite disturbing, really. At the very least it was off-putting.

Once we were finished, we headed upstairs, bumping into a black haired blue-shirt on the way.

She looked sharply at us, "You know a girl called Anna?" She demanded, "Hangs out with someone called Dan?"

I frowned at her, "Yeah, she's my sister, why?"

The black-haired girl shook her head, "Nowt, just wondering, thought I recognised that face. It looks a lot less annoying on you, though,"

I didn't know whether to take offence on my sister's behalf or laugh, but before I could do either, the girl had walked on.

* * *

><p>Chapter 49~Anna<p>

Dan and I sat in the dining hall in an annoyed going-to-strangle-Elizabeth silence. It was broken almost immediately by a tall, buff-looking freak with gelled up hair.

"Are you two, like, going out now?" He asked, smirking and stopping next to our table.

I glared at him, "Um, 1) no, so shove off, 2) who the _hell_ are you? And 3) how the fuck do you know a single thing about me or Dan?" I snapped.

Gelled-up-hair freak shrugged, "You make a cute couple," He said wickedly, then walked over to join a group of boys at a table further away.

"Yeah, fuck off you freak of nature," I yelled after him, catching half the attention of the dining hall.

I turned back to Dan, now seriously pissed off. Dan sighed.

"You have it easy- people know you- you insult them, beat people (well Sandi, anyway) up, hack into their personal stuff and ruin them. No one knows me, and I don't exactly make a habit of drawing up vengeance plans, so no one's afraid of asking me. I've had about thirty people ask me about us already. And one of them was the same person three times over!"

I joined in with the sighing- Dan was right- my notorious (I love that word) actions seemed to have gained me enough fear that only about six or seven people had asked me.

"When I next see Elizabeth..." I growled, trailing off because it just generally sounds more threatening.

"Let's talk about something else," Dan interrupted, sensing I'd start ranting angrily and making no sense if I carried on.

"Ok," I muttered, glancing around the room.

The was another silence- the sort of well-I-did-have-something-else-to-say-a-few-minutes-ago-but-my-brain-has-now-inconveiniently-forgotten-what silence.

I decided to press this whole change of subject thing to my advantage. Dan was the one who had found that memory stick at Bob's place, and probably had a vague idea of what information it had on it. Maybe, if I managed to hack into MI6, I could find out a few pieces of information on Bob myself. A little personal vengeance never hurt anyone. Well, it did. People got killed and all, but still!

"So you know that memory stick you found back at Bob's place?" I asked, trying to be... not subtle, just less obvious than normal.

"Bob?" Dan questioned.

"You know! The dude who kidnapped me! _Bob_ Bob," I told him.

Dan looked as if he were remembering something very vague and might possibly understand what I was going on about, "Oh yeah... that Bob. Although, seriously, Anna? _Bob_? What kind of name is that?"

I crossed my arms grouchily, "It's better than Larry. But anyways, what sort of information did it have on it? Was there anything on Bob's little gang's future plans or whatever?"

"Dasakota," Dan said absentmindedly, as if correcting me on something.

"You who?" I asked, confused.

Dan jumped slightly and focussed on me again, "Sorry, what?"

"That word thingie- Dakoot or whatever- what is it?" I raised a curious eyebrow.

Dan winced slightly at my question, "Um... it's the name of the street gang," He shrugged.

"And you know that because...?" I demanded suspiciously.

Dan rolled his eyes, "Dude, I was the one who found the memory stick- if it has their future plans in it or whatever, it makes sense there should be a name somewhere,"

"Right, ok, whatever," I dropped it, but inside I was much more curious- if Dan had known about Dasaroot or whatever before, why had he never mentioned it?

"So... what should we talk about now?" Dan changed the subject again.

"I don't know, but we're both finished now- we may as well dunk our plates and go somewhere where we don't have every freaking tosser in the whole of CHERUB freaking campus staring at us," I said rather loudly, glaring pointedly at several people whispering and staring at us.

Sheesh! We were a girl and a boy who may possibly be going out! How was that important or good gossip anyway?

We trudged away back up the stairs, trying to avoid being stared curiously at by everyone. Half-way up, Dan swore and started pulling random things out of his pockets- Gabby's bouncy ball, some marbles, a half eaten slice of toast (I know, it's disgusting) a yo-yo (also Gabby's) some maths homework, some hamster treats, Flo's pink and sparkly pen, a broken watch, 50p and some chocolate bar wrappers. I know what you're thinking- how big are his fucking pockets? Or maybe you're still hung up on the half eaten slice of toast...

"What is it?" I asked staring at him.

"Left my coke can on our table. It was still half full," Dan sighed, stuffing his... stuff back into his pockets.

"Why the hell were you looking in your pockets then?" I demanded incredulously, "How could you even fit a coke can in your pocket?"

Dan shrugged, "I've done it before. But it was an empty and incredibly squished can... Anyway, could I just meet you in your room or something- I'm not wasting half a can of coke just because it's three floors down,"

"Sure," I grinned, shaking my head in amusement.

Dan set off down the stairs and I continued up them. I'd barely gone half a floor further when a girl maybe a year older than me walked up and asked, "Hey, so are you and that guy Dan going out?"

I looked at her for a second, than carried on walking, "Nope," I called back vaguely.

Trying not to punch everyone's face in was proving more difficult than expected. Ten seconds later a boy my age approached his doom. Well, me, really, but that sounded more dramatic. I gave him my death glare, just as he opened his mouth. It seemed to take effect around the middle of his sentence.

"Are you and D- uh... never mind..." He muttered and ran away.

I congratulated my death glare and moved on. Not that I take joy out of scaring other people. I more of take joy that I'm not being questioned about who is or isn't my boyfriend.

A whole _half freaking minute_ later (arrghhh!) someone called out from behind me.

"Hey, Anna! Is it true that-"

"No! It is _not_ true! Dan and I are not going out! Sheesh! Someone _shoot_ Elizabeth!" I growled.

"I wasn't going to ask that," A cold, irritated voice objected.

I turned around, "Ok then, what were you going to ask... what was your name again? I forget things like that a lot,"

It was the orange-shirt Dan and I had talked to two days ago. Her name began with an S or something...

"Karlie," The girl tutted.

I knew it was something like S!

"Well then, Karlie, shoot. As long as it isn't about Dan, I'm fine. If it is about Dan I may shoot myself. Or you. Probably you,"

"I'm not bothered- you don't appear to have a gun, Anna," Karlie pointed out, then flicked her overly-long black fringe out of her eyes then continued, "What I _was_ going to ask, was; Is it true you got kidnapped by Dasakota?"

* * *

><p>Hehehehehehehehheh<p> 


	16. A Developing Plotline Mwa ha ha ha ha

ARRGGHHH! Sorry for taking so long to post again! (I was watching A VERY POTTER MUSICAl and A VERY POTTER SEQUEL for several evenings- THEY'RE AWESOMELY AMUSING!)

* * *

><p>Chapter 50~Anna<p>

Dasakota. It took me a moment to remember that it was what Dan had called _them_. I froze, "What do you know about Dasakota?" I demanded, staring at her, my face hardening.

Karlie's face was just as cold, "They killed my whole family,"

Well, there isn't a lot you can say to that, but you can freaking well try!

"They kidnapped me and my brother. They tried to kill my father, made him fake his own death, then tried to kill him again," I confirmed, "I take it you hate them too?"

Karlie snorted, "Did you _really_ need to ask that? I hate them with everything I have,"

"Good to know someone else who gives a shit about taking them down," I nodded seriously.

"You're want to take them down?" Karlie asked.

I shook my head, "I'm finding my Dad first. Family comes first. Always. However, the minute I know where the hell he is, I'm hunting each and every one of those bastards down,"

Anger bubbled inside me. I rarely thought about Dasakota (well, the street gang, since I had no clue what they were called until about ten minutes ago) but when I did, I'd always felt the same- an undeniable hatred. For what they did to Arron and me. For what they did to my Dad. It felt good to know someone who hated them too.

"I may be able to help you with taking them down," Karlie cracked a smile, looking around the corridor to check no one was too near, "I have a piece of information or two about them,"

"How?" I gawped, thoughts flashing to the memory stick Dan had rescued. Could she have another copy of it? Did she know about it, even?

"Not now- I'm not gonna stand around here all day explaining it to you. Meet me in the woods in two hours time," Karlie told me, "This is important stuff and I don't want anyone else to find out about it. At least, not right now,"

I raised my eyebrow, "Wow, someone's keeping it dramatic. I'll try not to die of suspense for a whole two hours,"

Karlie grinned, "Anna? Don't tell _anyone_ about this, ok?"

I nodded, "Definitely a dramatic person,"

"Yeah- I've been wanting to say that line for years," Karlie agreed, then turned and walked away.

"I'll see you later then," I called after her, then added, "And Karlie, congrats on getting into CHERUB. I had my doubts when I first met you- you seemed to into swearing at everyone,"

"Yeah, thanks, I think. Oh, by the way, congrats on going out with Dan! I think you two really suit each other," Karlie retorted.

"Oh! That is too far, Karlie!" I tutted, but somehow, when Karlie said it, though she was pretty much a complete stranger, it was ok. I didn't mind. Well, not that much.

Karlie waved a dismissive hand at me and continued down the corridor. I shook my head to myself and set off in the other direction, to my room.

I plonked myself down on the bed just in time for a grumpy looking Dan (now holding his half can of coke) to walk in. He was closely followed by my currently much-hated-by-me sister and her incredibly-geeky-nerd-boy-but-hopeless-at-French boyfriend.

"Hi Freak one and Freak two. Could you go away? Please?" I asked.

Emma rolled her eyes at me. She probably shouldn't have, seem as though I was a very angry and violent person, and I was still very annoyed at her.

"Nope, Anna, we're not going to go away," Emma told me.

"Well," I sighed, getting up, "I tried,"

"We're not going to go away, because Emma has something to tell you," Andrew said, looking at my sister like... a proud freaking boyfriend.

I looked at my sister, reanalysed the smug kinda look on her face then thought through any rule I'd broken recently that she might have found evidence for and turned me into Meryl. Nothing. Well, nothing _she_ knew about, anyway. So re-reanalyzed her smug kinda look and thought through any possible award you could get for being a nerd at CHERUB. All I could think of for that was extra homework.

"If you're telling us you finished your work in Geography early so you got to do an extra piece of work, I _really_ don't give a shit," I warned her.

Emma death-glared me. Fortunately, as a mischievous and immature younger-by-seconds sister, this said glare has no effect on me.

However, clearly, Emma had not done well enough during school (although, technically, she'd gotten back _after_ school had finished for the Easter holidays... freakish little swot must be trying to catch up with whatever she'd missed...) to 'earn' extra homework. So what had she done?

"Ok... so... you got a punishment of re-sorting library books?" I asked finally, unable to come up with a more likely thing to happen to Emma.

"No!" Emma sighed, clearly bored of my hopeless guessing.

I held up my hands, "Ok then, ok then! Give me one more try!" I grinned teasingly.

I thought again. Andrew had finally asked her out on a date? Nope, 'cos my sister wouldn't bother telling me that. I'd only make fun of her.

Maybe... she'd been offered a work experience thingie? I cussed out loud as I realised that, now we were fifteen, we were probably supposed to be getting some shitty work experience thing.

"You got given your work experience thing today and you're working," I pulled a horrified face, "In a _library_ aren't you?" Emma burst out laughing. I tried again, "So... no to the library... a bookshop? You're going to work in a bookshop? No? ...You're going to teach at a local primary school?" I asked, getting more confused as Emma carried on laughing.

Dan pulled a horrified face pretty much identical to mine, "Damn. I'd forgotten about work experience... shit... I was hoping we'd get some sort of forewarning..." He muttered, "It's ok for _you_ Anna- I don't think they're gonna give you work experience until you've finished Basic Training, but for the rest of us!" He groaned.

Emma pulled herself together, "No, chill, you two! No work experience, library punishments or extra homework!" She grinned, and I saw a flash of the much-buried-incredibly-old-and-very-shy Emma. The one that could actually get excited about things, "I've got a mission!" Emma all but squealed.

My mouth dropped open. Dan's mouth had more manners than mine and stayed shut. However, he did go slightly bug-eyed.

"You've been back for, what?" I attempted to mentally calculate.

Dan did it for me; "Three sleeps,"

"For_ three_ sleeps!" I gawped, "And you've _already _got a m- Hang on! Why the hell is it three _sleeps_?" I demanded.

Dan shrugged, "Cos otherwise it could have been two, three, four or five days, depending on which day you started counting from. And whether you counted today,"

I nodded, "Right ok, now that that's sorted," I turned back to Emma and resumed my sentence, "_Already_ got a mission? How come? How the fuck did you get a mission so freaking quickly? Where are you going? What's it about?"

Emma shrugged and looked very non-apologetic, "Can't tell you that, sorry. Classified information to do with the mission,"

I leapt to my feet, "What do you mean, classified? I'm your freaking sister! We tell each other next to nothing!"

"Exactly," My sister shrugged, "So I feel no need to tell you about this,"

I stared at her suspiciously, "Was it printed?" I asked suddenly.

"Was what printed?" Andrew butted in, sensing he was beginning to be left out. Well, by Dan and I anyway.

Dan knew me well enough to supply Andrew with the answer, "The mission briefing,"

"Of course it was printed! They needed more than one copy of the briefing and it was about ten pages long! All of information!" Emma sighed.

"If it's been printed, it's been typed, and if it's been typed then it can be accessed!" I told her happily.

Emma scowled, "Let's see how long it takes you, then. In the meantime, have fun guessing where I'm going,"

"Hell?" I asked under my breath.

Emma hit me on the arm, "Hey!"

* * *

><p>Chapter 51<p>

Simon walked briskly through the crowded corridor that made up the MI6 base in Manchester. Most people sent nods his way, and the occasional person smiled and waved. He was well known here. However, not many people stopped to talk. It was frustrating to be so well known, yet gain so little information. No one wanted to tell _him_ anything. Only Francis got the good, juicy news.

Before Francis, Simon had been the one who brought in the vital facts, the serious reports. He'd even managed to overhear a conversation involving a not-so-dead-Michael-Simons, and the date and time of the move to his safe house. But that discovery had gone sour, and, it seemed, so had everything after it.

Simons had escaped. That had given him his first taste of bitterness. Then, MI6 had demoted him. Fred hadn't liked that at all. He was still popular, but he wasn't in the centre anymore. He had been pushed aside. Next, Francis came along out of the blue, and achieved himself a place higher up in MI6's stupid hierarchy than Simon had ever managed to get. The bitterness and rage he had felt from that had been very little at first, but as Francis continued to excel and outshine Simon, everything had been building up, flooding him with hatred.

"Hey! You! Take this to Heela's office will you? I'm running late for a meeting," A hurried man shoved a file at Simon, then darted away, scurrying down a set of stairs to the left.

Simon clenched his teeth in disgust. He used to be the one who punished people from being late. Then he'd been demoted to the one who ran late. Now, he was the one who did everyone else's' errands. For what? What did any of this get him? Franco was getting fed up of his blank reports. He earned no respect here, either. His family had deserted him for a new life in Wales.

Simon delivered the package with barely concealed fury, then moved on. His work shift was nearly over anyway- his hours had been cut back only yesterday. Simon wasn't really needed here anymore. It would only be a matter of time before he was kicked out of his job. Fred wouldn't need him then- he had Francis.

The hatred Simon felt for Francis was overwhelming. The way Simon saw it, everything that had gone wrong recently, was because of Francis. Francis and one other man; Michael Simons.

And Simon was going to get revenge on both of them.

* * *

><p>Chapter 52~Anna<p>

Giving Dan the slip, I decided, was a necessary evil. Meaning it wasted too much time and resulted in me feeling immensely guilty afterwards. Yes, I do have a conscience, if you were wondering. I just don't use it too much- there are so many people to get revenge on, and it just becomes a nuisance when you're thinking up something evil. Like kidnapping Sybil and locking him in Emma's room overnight. Or sneaking into Sandi's room and cutting all her hair off while she slept. Or just covering her face with baked beans...

Anyway, back to the matter at hand- my guilt. I gave Dan the slip, and headed out to the woods, hoping that he didn't spot me heading to the woods when I'd told him I'd been called to Meryl's office.

Karlie was sitting under a tree at the edge of the woods looking bored. She raised her eyebrows at me as I reached her, almost as if she was asking why I was so late. Which I wasn't... that much...

Karlie sat up properly as I reached her and brought out a weathered, worn and in-sever-need-of-a-replacement backpack. She slung it over her shoulder and stood up, gesturing for me to follow her.

"Jeez, the edge of the woods wasn't remote enough? We have to go somewhere else?" I complained.

"About ten people have walked past me in the last five minutes. I'd hardly call it remote. And anyway, I don't care how security obsessed this place is, I'm a paranoid bitch and I don't want anyone to overhear us," Karlie told me.

I picked up my pace so I could continue to walk at her side- this girl walked _fast_.

"So are you usually this paranoid, or is it just an annoying bad habit you get every time you're breaking the rules. 'Cos that would suck. I mean, seriously. I break the rules all the time. I'm already paranoid every time I hear or see a figure of authority coming towards me! Does that ever happen to anyone else?" I babbled.

Karlie shrugged, "If getting the sudden urge to hit any teacher coming within ten feet of me counts, then sure,"

"Hmmm," I mused aloud to myself.

Karlie looked behind us suddenly, then ducked into a bush. I looked at the bush, unimpressed, "Seriously? You're hiding in _a bush_? How the hell were you even able to dive into that freaking thing?"

No answer came from the bush. I stared at it incredulously. If this was some crappy practical joke on me... I peered into the bush. It was... in a word? Hollow. There was a very small tunnel-like space, barely big enough to crawl through. Karlie was already out of sight.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered, ducking in and beginning to crawl, my curiosity getting the better of me, "I have sunk so low!"

I heard Karlie give a quiet laugh up ahead, and called back, "Anna? Bushes can't talk, remember,"

I reached the end of the bush-tunnel, scrambling up and brushing myself down and picking a few branches out of my hair, because they were seriously annoying me. I looked around. We had crawled about twenty metres under the cover of bushes to reach a little clearing next to the fence. I glanced at Karlie in a sort of 'what-the-hell-was-that-all-about' way.

Karlie rolled her eyes, "Double checking that no one was following us," She told me.

I looked at her, "Just admit it- you were actually seeing how many unsuspecting people you could make fools of. Myself, unfortunately, included. And how the hell did you manage to find the only hollowed out bush on campus?" I demanded, "You've been here, what? Three or four hours?"

Karlie shrugged, "I overheard some red shirts talking about this stealth game they'd had to play, and that there were loads of hollowed out bushes on this part of campus designed for the game. I thought I'd check it out. Evidentially, they don't do bush sizes for kids over ten,"

"Well then, can you tell me all this secretive information stuff?" I asked, sitting down on the ground. Thankfully, it hadn't rained recently, and the ground was dry.

Karlie slipped her backpack off and dropped it on the ground. There was a heavy THUNK. I raised my eyebrows at her.

Karlie grinned and pulled out a little (and I mean positively _tiny_) laptop – an Acer Aspire A110 laptop, in case you were wondering. And no, I am not nerdy enough to know that on sight. I looked it up. I am nerdy enough for that...- out of her bag, then a plastic wallet full of sheets of paper, "I did a little raiding once, before social services found me,"

I looked at the stuff in front of me, "Looks like a worthwhile life- that is a _lot_ of information,"

Karlie tossed me the laptop, "The password is shit easy- you'll get it straight away. You don't need a username,"

I caught the laptop, opened it and switched it on eagerly. The bright blue screen flashed on and a box popped up with a space for a password. Pondering over what Karlie had told me about the password I typed in; Password. The box shoved off and I was logged in.

I cackled, "I love that password- it works every freaking time,"

Karlie was rifling through reams of paper, looking for something specific. I scrolled through the programmes and chose a file at random- D Stuff. Ok, it wasn't completely random. If the password was password, the D _had_ to stand for Dasakota.

Sure enough, about fifty little documents (Word, Publisher, Access, Excel, and even, to my surprise, PowerPoint documents. What evil master-criminal organization makes PowerPoint presentations?) popped up.

"So I take it this laptop isn't yours?" I asked conversationally, clicking on one of the PowerPoint thingies (called Operation Point Of Sharp Sword- the first of five sword operations, the others being Sword Point, Pointed Sword, Short Sword and Sword), because I simply _had_ to see what these evil master-criminal PowerPoint presentations were about.

"Of course it isn't, but don't tell anyone that! I barely managed to keep hold of this, but since it couldn't have been stolen from a shop, I had none of the legal papers and no one could find any reference to it on the Acer database or whatever that crappy tech stuff is called, they had to say it was mine. They couldn't just take it off me. That would've been stealing,"

I looked at her, "How old are you Karlie?" It struck me that, although I'd presumed she was about the same age as me, I'd never actually asked.

Karlie looked up, "Thirteen. I'm fourteen in October," She told me.

"And no one thought of just nicking off with the laptop possibly owned by a thirteen year old?" I asked sarcastically.

Karlie shrugged, "I had a reputation for being violent. Maybe they were just secretly very afraid of me,"

I grinned, "Yeah, who wouldn't? Lethal tiny people! They terrify me!"

Karlie looked at me witheringly.

"No, seriously, little kids. They are _terrifying_," I confessed to her, "Especially little kids who can do karate! Have you ever walked into the dojo while some seven year olds are having a lesson? I have nightmares over the time I did!" I paused for a second, "Ok, maybe I _didn't_ have nightmares, but they terrified the hell out of me still!"

Karlie laughed, "I'm not that small! And anyway, I'm a teenager, not a kid,"

"Oooh," I teased, "Age defensive! But I suppose you _are_ only about a head and shoulder shorter than me. That isn't so bad considering,"

The look Karlie sent me gave me a sudden urge to randomly and for no reason at all change the subject to something completely different. Before she killed me. I guessed height is a touchy subject with Karlie, as well as age.

"Wow," I muttered, when I finally turned my attention back to the screen, "There are actually _daisies_ on this PowerPoint,"

"What?" Karlie demanded, leaning over me.

"Haven't you seen all this stuff already?" I asked, "I mean, like, gone through it all?"

Karlie snorted, "I consider myself brilliant at thinking on my feet, but when I nicked off with that laptop, there were several things I didn't consider. Like what I was gonna do if it ran out of batteries. It didn't help that it's quite an expensive model. I had to pickpocket people for _months _to get enough money to buy a charger. It's only really been in the past month, since social services picked me up, that I've had enough time to look through it, and be able to charge it up again afterwards. And even then I haven't had much time- my roommates had an annoying habit of stalking my every move, and school wanted to have a catch up with me," She shrugged, "I haven't read that much really. That was why I shared this with you. You're good with computer tech, you also know about Dasakota and severely dislike them and , well, I _really_ hate reading paperwork on the computer. _Paper_ paperwork, I can handle, but computer stuff sucks,"

I nodded, "Good for you that I'm used to looking through reams of information on a computer incredibly quickly. So could I nick off with this temporarily? 'Cos my excuse isn't gonna hold much longer, and I don't want to be sitting here at ten o'clock every evening reading until I've looked through it all,"

Karlie nodded, and held out a hand, "We can head back now, really, but I advise you give me the laptop- it's kind of hard to hold when crawling through a bush, no matter how hollowed out it is,"

"Yeah, but especially since this one is kids-under-the-age-of-ten hollowed out size," I muttered, handing her the laptop and diving into the bush.

I reached the end of the bush tunnel and pulled myself out. It aggravated me to find that some more branches had replaced the ones I'd previously removed from my hair. I winced as I yanked a particularly tangled branch out of my hair. Stupid crappy bush-branches.

I waited for Karlie, who handed me the mini laptop and it's charger, then waved to her and ran off to my room to hide my precious, new (admittedly borrowed) gifts.

* * *

><p>Chapter 53<p>

Anna was lying. How did Dan know that? Because Meryl had already arranged for him to meet her in her office at the exact point in time that Anna had claimed to be going there. He watched Anna slip out of the building and to the edge of the woods. He couldn't make out who it was, but she met someone there, and the two of them went into the woods together.

Quickly, hoping that Anna wouldn't come back and spot him heading towards Meryl's office (it wouldn't happen, he knew, but paranoia gets to everyone) he ran to the mission control building and knocked on the door to Meryl's office. Dan sighed as the all too familiar "Come in," came from inside. He was going into this office far too much...

John and Meryl were sitting waiting for him. Dan sat down quietly and looked at John and Meryl.

"What's going on?" He asked, looking between the two adults.

Meryl sighed and John grimaced.

"We're about to do something that probably never been done before- deliberately get a CHERUB student into trouble," Meryl told him reluctantly.

Dan looked at her in amazement, "Seriously? Why? What are you gonna do?"

John leaned forward, "Peter has found us his expert in decryption, but it is more than a ten minute job, and we can't have a definite guarantee that Anna will not notice her laptop gone while this expert works on her computer. So, the only way we can see forward is to get Anna into some sort of trouble which leads to her laptop being taken off her,"

"You can actually confiscate people's stuff?" Dan asked, "I thought it was all laps and stuff! I've never heard of anyone having their stuff confiscated!"

Meryl nodded reluctantly, "It's true we've never really confiscated anything as a punishment, however, with Anna, I've already started a different punishment scheme,"

Dan connected the dots and his eyes twinkled with amusement, "You mean that supposed essay or whatever? The one she found a loophole in and only wrote her mobile number on?"

Meryl glared at him and he suppressed laughter. In an attempt to remain serious (and not burst out laughing) he asked, "So how are we gonna get Anna into trouble?"

Meryl thought for a second, "It shouldn't be too hard to get Anna to break the rules; however, I don't particularly want you to get her into a fight with Sandi. I get the feeling Anna wouldn't hold back on Sandi this time,"

Dan looked at her, "I'm pretty sure she wasn't holding back the first time,"

Meryl pursed her lips, not wanting to admit Dan was right, "Anyway, I don't want anyone to get hurt,"

John sighed, "Dan, do you think you would be able to get Anna into trouble somehow?"

Dan frowned. He did _not_ want to get Anna into trouble- he was already feeling guilty enough about keeping the details of his mission a secret. Then again, Anna was keeping her own secrets. Namely what she was doing meeting someone in the woods when she'd told Dan she was meeting with Meryl. Still that wasn't a reason to get her into trouble, was it? What if it helped to catch the people who had forced her Dad to pretend to die and were now the reason why her Dad was missing? Was it fair then? Situation Ethics. Dan sighed. He'd hated that subject during school- it was so pointless! Well, admittedly, now it wasn't, but in the lesson it had been.

"I'll see what I can do," Dan replied at last.


	17. Truth 'n' Dare

Hope you enjoy. Sorry again for taking so long! I'm so lazy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 54~Emma<p>

I was so freaking out. I stared at the pile of papers in front of me in disbelief. I hadn't realised just how much I'd need to know for the mission! And we were heading off _tomorrow_! I'd gotten so desperate that I'd resorted to making myself a bullet pointed list.

Name; Carinthia Hestford

Age; 14

Family; Mum (Chloe), Dad (Frank Hestford), younger (by a year) sister Yvonne Hestford (Mel) and older (by two years) brother Tam Hestford (Lee).

Reason for moving (to Pleasantville, Atlantis City) Frank got a new job.

Where did I previously live? New York, Ohio, Louisiana and Colorado.

I was pretty sure there was supposed to be more than that, but I couldn't remember anymore. I felt so... unprepared. I realised that I had no idea what my first ever mission was going to be like! There weren't any books I could read to find out what to do. No one I could really ask for advice (apart from maybe Andrew). I was officially freaking out.

Anna suddenly threw the door open and walked in, making me jump, and causing my notes to scatter everywhere.

"Jeez! Do you mind? There's this thing called knocking!" I grumbled at her, scooping up a couple of pages that had fallen onto the floor.

Anna shrugged, "Knocking is for losers and dweebs,"

"Or for people who actually respect other peoples' privacy," I retorted with a sigh.

Anna plonked herself on the bed next to me, "Well then, Emma, what does that tell you?"

I rolled my eyes, "Seriously, Anna, I'm heading off on a mission tomorrow and am freaking out over it, so if you could leave me alone so I can preserve a tiny bit of my dignity..." I prompted, tilting my head at the door.

Anna looked unimpressed, "Dude, I've seen you stress meltdown a million times before, this isn't gonna be much different from those,"

"... Anna, seriously, go away," I told her more insistently.

"Emma, sit, breathe, relax for a second. Seriously," She added.

"You might have enough time in your life, but I don't. Mission. Tomorrow," I growled at her.

Anna raised her eyebrows, "Emma, dearest, throwing a hissy fit and stressing out will not help anyone, least of all yourself. I've had to put up with you more than anyone else, ever. Do I or do I not know how to deal with you when you're in a mood?"

Anna was being annoyingly logical- I guess she must have inherited some seriousness from our parents. However, she had a point, "Ok, you know me," I admitted grudgingly, "Better than anyone else. That doesn't mean you can deal with me,"

Anna snorted dismissively, "Dude, I own you! I am your personal slave driver!"

"Shove off, Anna," I moaned, pushing her off the bed.

"Shan't," Anna told me, a teasing grin on her face. I chucked my pillow at her.

Anna flicked through the mission briefing and all the information I was supposed to know about.

"Seriously? You haven't learnt all of this yet? I expected better of you, Emma! I'm so disappointed in you right now,"

"Shut up Anna. I haven't learnt it all because annoying people like you keep disturbing me," I said pointedly.

Anna shrugged, "Carinthia Hestford? Not so bad I suppose... you could've been called Larry," She scrunched up her nose in distaste, "No one is called Larry,"

"Anna! Shut up about the name Larry! What is your obsession with no one being called it?" I demanded, "And why is Arron so eager to prove you wrong about it? Seriously! It's just really annoying!"

Anna looked at me, "It's a _long_ story that dints my ego. Quite a bit," She glanced back down at the sheet, "Hmmm Tam. Weird name. Quite cool actually..." She muttered vaguely.

"Yeah, yeah, enough about names. Go away now, please, Anna," I didn't ask- Anna didn't do asking. You have to kick her out if she intends on staying. And that can mean literally kicking her out.

"So is this where Mum is, then?" Anna asked suddenly.

I looked at her, "Since when have you cared about where Mum is?" I demanded, astounded.

Anna shrugged, "Pretty much never. But I said I'd help, and I will," She tilted her head towards my phone, which was sitting on my desk, "You taking that with you?"

I looked at it, "I can't phone you anyway- I have to have a new sim card and everything, so that no one can get a number of someone who technically doesn't exist,"

Anna grinned, picked it up and began fiddling with it, "I take it you've already got the sim card in to attempt to learn your new number or something?"

"Yeah. What are you doing with my phone, Anna? That cost me money, you know," I told her edgily. Anna might be good with computers and techy stuff, but she'd destroy several computers in the process of getting this good. I didn't want my phone to turn into another of her experiments-gone-wrong.

"I'm adding my number in," Anna told me, then chucked me the phone, "There, done,"

"You realise I'm just going to delete it, right? I can't have your number on my phone, in case someone gets it off me and..." I trailed off, staring at my Contacts page. The only numbers I had were Mel's and Lee's, "Where's your phone number?" I demanded.

Anna was busy stealing my pen and writing my new number on her arm. She glanced up, "If you lock your phone then dial my phone number, you can ring me. Your phone will delete any details of the call immediately afterwards. Sadly, it'll still cost you. At least it isn't a pay as you go phone, 'cos then there would be a definite trace on it. The same works if I ring you- it'll delete any details afterwards. Apart from your drop in credit, there'll be no evidence that you've rang me or vice-versa,"

I raised an impressed eyebrow, "When did you learn this?"

"I nicked off with Liam's phone once and experimented on it a bit. Now he can't change his ringtone from Barbie Girl, no matter how many times he deletes the song off his phone. Sadly, I couldn't confess it was me who did it- he'd gone to Meryl when he couldn't find it. If I said it was me, then I would've gotten into more trouble than it was worth. The look on his face when we were in the lunch hall and Tom rang him," Anna chuckled to herself.

I looked away as I realised once again how much I'd missed when I'd been in basic training. It was like being ill for a month and not doing any school work- you'd come back, and everyone but you would understand the work. I felt out of step with the rest of CHERUB campus.

Anna stood up, still oblivious to what I was feeling- the whole one twin sensing what the other feels is a total myth for the most part, but sometimes something happened, and it would make me wonder, for just a second... However, that was very rare- Anna wasn't really sensitive enough to pick up on anyone else's feelings. That didn't make her self- absorbed. Not at all. Just ever so slightly insensitive, sometimes incredibly annoying, and a little clueless in some situations. It was what made her Anna, in that sense.

"Well, anyway, I've gotta go now- I lost a bet with Dan so now I've got to give him extra French tuition so he doesn't have to sit with Andrew again after half term," Anna looked so disgusted with herself I couldn't help but laugh.

Anna gave me a mocking how-could-you-laugh-at-something-as-horrible-as-me-having-to-teach-Dan-French-in-the-_holdiays_ look, then went back to being serious (not that she'd been very serious in the first place, but still), "Anyway," She coughed, looking slightly uncomfortable, "If you're getting up before twelve tomorrow, and I don't see you again later," She took a deep breath and blurted it out, "Good look on your mission. And on finding Mum. Although you really don't need to,"

I grinned at Anna's uncomfortable speech. Anna wasn't too bad with sisterly stuff, but sometimes, she really did struggle. I think it was mainly just because this was serious, and serious just wasn't Anna's forte. I hugged her, "Yeah, thanks, Anna. I'll call you when I get there and have found some time to myself," I promised.

Anna waved slightly and headed out of the door, seeming relieved to have gotten our sisterly moment over and done with. I suppressed laughter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 55~Anna<p>

As it turns out, I _did_ see Emma later on. Elizabeth had no intention of letting Emma leave without a massive celebration, no matter what time Emma was going to have to get up the next morning (7:30). Elizabeth also seemed deaf to Emma's objections.

She dragged Emma out of her room and into the corridor, where she'd somehow managed to convince practically everyone on campus to donate some sort of chocolatey snack and put up with some music she was blasting out of some speakers.

Stepping into the corridor on Emma's floor, I shook my head in amazement. Why the hell did Elizabeth hang out with Dan, Andrew, Emma, Liam and I when she had so many other freaking friends to hang out with? Not that I was objecting. It was just bemusing to wonder why the hell she would choose to hang out with a couple of unpopular freaks.

And yes, I'm not deluded in anyway. I'm not popular. I'm freaking famous gossip wise- my stunt back before CHERUB about hacking into Meryl's stuff had spread wide and far. However, that didn't make me popular. Most people find it hard to be exposed to my pure awesome freakiness for more than a couple of minutes. Thos that did had real talent. Not that I'm calling Andrew _or_ Liam talented. Dan was amazingly tolerant with me, and Emma had lived with me my whole life, so she just got used to it. I know, it's depressing that my sheer awesomeness means I am virtually friendless. Ok, I'm joking. I think it's really just because I'm too much of a freak, but still.

Dan spotted me from halfway down the corridor. He waved and made his way through the crowd of people (most of which had come along for the free food).

"Wow. This is a kinda sucky party," A dry voice said from behind me, before Dan could reach me.

I turned, "Hi Karlie," I raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you did parties,"

Karlie gave me a look, "I don't. My room's on this floor," She told me, insulted.

I shrugged, "I'm here for two reasons. Apparently from Elizabeth- the girl who organised this whole shit- as Emma's sister, I have to be here. The second reason is the food. I mean, seriously, have you _seen_ how much chocolate there is here?"

Karlie smirked slightly, "I may as well stay for that then, although not very long- I'm going out to check up on something,"

Before I could ask what, 'cos I'm curious in that way, Dan arrived, "Hi Anna,"

He grinned slightly at Karlie, "Hello. You're that orange shirt from the other day, right?"

"Karlie," Karlie nodded solemnly.

Dan nodded politely, then looked at me, "Your sister is demanding your presence down the other side of the corridor, by the way. Apparently, if she has to put up with millions of random kids talking to her, so do you,"

"Sheesh! Was turning up not enough?" I complained.

I waved at Karlie and Dan and headed off into the crowd, yelling back, "Emma bet be near the food or I'm deserting her!"

Thankfully, Emma was right next to a massive box of doughnuts (Chocolate on top and chocolate and caramel in the middle of them. They were _delicious_, just so you know) and was helping herself to a malteser thingie from a box of celebrations.

"Hi Emma," I went over to her, grabbing a doughnut and a galaxy caramel from the celebrations box, "I figured you'd need help eating some of this,"

Emma gave me a withering look, "More like you got hungry, Anna,"

I shrugged, "Same difference, really,"

Emma looked around the corridor and pulled a face, "I know _none_ of these people!" She moaned, "This is not only awkward, but pointless and a waste of time,"

"Well, at least the foods nice," I told her, waving about a doughnut.

Emma held out a box of celebrations tauntingly, "I'll give you the rest of these if you can get me out of here and cover for me," She bargained.

"O box of celebrations?" I asked scornfully, "What if Elizabeth finds out? I'll have to face her wrath all by myself!"

Emma looked at me, "Seriously? You're afraid that Elizabeth will hunt you down and kill you when I'm the one who won't be here,"

"Yes, but I'm the one who'll be covering for you, and you're right- before Elizabeth has unleashed her wrath you'll be halfway to America!" I objected.

Emma looked slightly desperate, "C'mon Anna! I need to look over some stuff a few more times, and say goodbye to Andrew privately-" She ignored my teasing look, "And I need to get to bed early!"

"Those are the three most pathetic excuses I have ever heard," I looked at the very tempting box of celebrations, "Fine. I'll cover for you," I muttered, claiming the box.

Emma grinned at me, "Thanks, Anna. Could you go talk to Elizabeth for a few minutes while I make my escape?"

"Ugh, fine," I sighed, turning to try and find her.

"Thanks Anna. I'll see you..." Emma paused, and I knew she had only just realised that we had no clue when we'd see each other again. Coming to CHERUB had been strange- in fact, even before that. Ever since Dad had 'died' things had been strange.

Emma and I were used to doing everything together, no matter how much we annoyed each other. First, I'd been kidnapped, then Emma had gone into Basic Training, and now, Emma was off on a mission. It felt weird, this whole goodbye-until-who-the-hell-knows-hope-to-see-you-in-a-moth-or-so.

I nodded, "Good luck and all, again. You'll need it. You're not all that incredibly talented,"

Emma punched my shoulder, "I'll see you around," She told me, giving me a quick hug then sprinted off.

I headed over to Elizabeth, who was talking to Tom, Liam, Dan and Karlie. She waved as she saw me and dragged me over to them.

"Where've you been?" Elizabeth demanded, "We've been trying to spot you for about ten minutes! Dan told me you'd gone to find Emma. Where is Emma?"

I shrugged, "She went to get a drink. Off there somewhere," I lied, pointing at some part of the corridor that was far away from Emma's room. A thought struck me, "Hey, Elizabeth? How come there aren't any teachers punishing us all to an eternity of lawn mowing or anything for having a... corridor party?"

Elizabeth smiled wickedly, "I asked permission,"

I looked at her, "And they _let_ you? Seriously? It's that easy?"

"Well..." Elizabeth sighed dramatically, "Not exactly,"

"... Seriously, tell me before I punch you," I threatened, "I don't do dramatic tension, it irritates me,"

Elizabeth scowled, "Fine! I _did_ just ask. No other strings attached. Dramatic tension just makes that sound better,"

Elizabeth was met with four sceptical glares and one understanding nod. You can guess for yourself who nodded.

"Well, when you finally persuade any of us about the truth of that statement, we'll throw you a party," Liam told her.

Elizabeth sighed, "You guys just don't appreciate drama!"

"No," Karlie muttered sarcastically, "We prefer real life,"

"She has a point," I agreed.

"Fine, ok, ok, forgive me, realists of the world, for crushing your dreams, but dramatic tension rules!" Elizabeth argued half-heartedly.

"Not!" I told her.

"It rules,"

"It sucks," Karlie told Elizabeth bluntly.

"Does not!"

"Does too, Elizabeth, face it," Dan told her.

"Hey! Come on! Dramatic tension makes all the movies seem better," Tom backed up Elizabeth.

"No," I said slowly, patronizingly, "It makes them cheesy as hell. And frustratingly boring,"

"Well... Dramatic tension..." Elizabeth frowned, trying to think of something credible about dramatic tension. She drew a blank.

"Sorry, but the truth, Elizabeth, is that no one likes dramatic tension, because it's-" Liam was cut off.

"So awesome that some people cannot see how truly amazing it is!" Elizabeth interrupted.

"Ok, so how is it 'so awesome'?" I asked.

Elizabeth scowled at me, "Anna! Shut up!" She moaned.

* * *

><p>Chapter 56~Anna<p>

After half an hour, most people had pissed off to go do whatever they did with their normal lives, leaving me, Dan, Elizabeth, Tom, Liam, Karlie, Tess, Raine and Lilly sitting in a corridor eating _my_ celebrations. And pondering over Emma and Andrew's 'mysterious' disappearance.

"Hmmmmm Tess, truth or dare?" Lilly muttered after a few minutes.

"Um... dare," Tess decided.

"I dare you to stand on your head until it's your turn again," Lilly told her.

Tess looked at her, "Dude. Non-gymnasticy person here. I suck at headstands,"

"That's the point!" Lilly told her cheerfully.

Tess glared at her then attempted a headstand against the wall. She managed to stay upright after a couple of tries.

Liam jumped in, "Anna," He said, a gleam of vengeance in his eye, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," I told him instantly.

"I dare you to stand on one leg for the rest of the night," He told me.

"Done," I stood up, leaned on the wall and put the sole of one foot against the wall, "I'm on one leg now, and I'm still technically standing," I checked my watch, "It's 11:49pm now. I've only got to wait another 11 minutes until it's morning,"

Liam glared at me, realising I'd beaten him. The others laughed.

"Liam?" I asked, Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Liam grimaced.

"I dare you to give up all of you sweets- including any secret stashes- to me," I dared.

Liam gave me a look of pure hatred then turned away slightly, sulking.

"Elizabeth," Dan started, "Tr-"

"Dare," Elizabeth interrupted, sighing.

"I dare you too wear absolutely no makeup for three days, starting tomorrow,"

"That's in 8 minutes," I added helpfully.

Elizabeth looked ready to either punch us, scream or cry.

"Truth or Dare, Lilly," Tom asked.

"Dare," Lilly shrugged, "I don't think any of us are gonna choose truth,"

"Um... I dare you to go to the floor above and knock on five doors without getting caught," Tom told her.

I jumped up, "I'm going up with her to make sure she does!" I volunteered.

"You can't," Liam shot back, "You've still got five minutes left before midnight,"

Tess fell over, "Me and Raine'll go with Lilly," She told us, standing up again.

"But it's not your turn yet! You're supposed to be on your head!" Lilly complained.

"I refused flat out to stand on my head ever again," Tess told her.

Lilly shrugged and agreed to that, so the three of them headed upstairs. All eyes turned to Karlie, who hadn't been dared yet (although Dan hadn't either, Karlie just seemed to make it more obvious...). Then to Elizabeth, who hadn't dared anyone yet. Elizabeth took her time considering- probably rubbing in the whole dramatic tension thing.

"I dare you to-"She began.

"Who says I chose dare?" Karlie interrupted.

"Well, you were obviously going to!" Elizabeth argued.

"But you never asked, so you might never had known," Karlie pointed out.

Elizabeth sighed, "Karlie, truth or d-"

"Dare," Karlie interrupted again.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and counted to ten. The rest of us (excluding Tom) tried not to laugh.

"I dare you to wear makeup the whole of next week," Elizabeth said finally, with a wicked gleam in her eye.

Karlie looked horrified, "Can we swap dares?" She begged.

"Against the rules!" I shouted gleefully, laughing at their expressions.

Liam turned to Dan, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare,"

"I dare you knock on _ten_ doors on the top floor!" Liam grinned.

I checked my watch. Midnight.

"I'm going to make sure he does it. Elizabeth, you need to take your makeup off now," I looked at Karlie and shrugged, "Cheer up- technically you've only got another three days. I'm sure Elizabeth will lend you some of her makeup,"

Karlie gave me her best death-glare and stalked off with Elizabeth to sort out their makeup. Dan and I raced up to the top floor, waving to Lilly, Raine and Tess as we met them on the stairs, heading back down.

Dan skidded to a stop once we arrived and took a breath. Then, grinning at me, ran down the corridor and pounded on a door. We dived halfway back down the stairs and waited as we heard a door being unlocked and some brief put colourful cursing. After a few minutes, Dan ran up again. And knocked on the same door. The unfortunate occupant of the room (let's call him Charles) did not open the door in time to catch Dan, so we were treated to even more swearing. We attempted to laugh silently. We waited a couple more minutes. Dan, for the third time now, ran up and knocked on Charles' door. He was back at my side several seconds before the door was opened, but it was getting close now. Charles' cussing had gone from muttered to shout, and was accompanied by a slammed door and the sound of something being broken.

Dan looked at me and mouthed, "Time to move on?"

I shrugged, "Once more?"

Dan grinned and darted up the stairs. He pounded on the door and dived back towards me. He had just gotten himself out of sight when the door opened. It was impossible to tell whether Dan had been seen or not, but since Charles' did not storm over to the stairs, I guessed he hadn't.

We sat down and waited a few more minutes. Dan flashed a grin at me and ran up to the very end of the corridor. Then he knocked on three doors before legging it to the official hiding place- the stairs. Three people stood at their doors cussing. Dan and I struggled to keep quiet. Eventually, they went into their rooms.

Dan ran up the corridor once more, and whacked three people's doors. Then, as an added bonus, he knocked loudly on Charles' door again. We didn't hang around to see anyone's reactions- we were racing down the stairs before someone heard our hysterical laughter and spotted us.

We arrived back downstairs and took our places on the floor again, still breathless from the laughing and the running-down-the-stairs.

Elizabeth grinned at me, though she looked slightly less enthusiastic now that she'd been banned from her beloved makeup, "Your turn Anna! Truth or dare?"

"Dare," I answered immediately.

"Set the fire alarm off," Elizabeth told her.

Before I could doubt the reasonableness of this (Meryl's knew punishments seemed to be worryingly horrible ones) I marched over to the fire alarm and smashed the glass. Immediately, alarms went off, almost deafening me.

Dan dragged me away from the fire alarm and we headed down the stairs together, along with the others, as people burst out of their rooms and headed for the stairs.

"You realise we're fully dressed still? It's gonna be so obvious that it was one of us," Dan yelled over the noise, "We're so screwed,"

"Yeah," I yelled back, "But life was getting a bit boring anyway,"

Dan gave me a look, "You are insane! You realise that, right?"

"If I wasn't insane, then who would be there to make everyone else look normal?" I asked him, grinning.


	18. Punishments and Missions

Chapter 57~Anna

Meryl had us lined up in front of her desk and was pacing backwards and forwards behind it, looking somewhere between murderously angry and... pissed off to all hell.

"Who, exactly, set off the fire alarm?" She demanded.

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Elizabeth,"

"Not me!"

"Anna,"

"No clue,"

"Anna,"

Meryl glared at us all, "Was it Anna or Elizabeth?" She demanded furiously.

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Elizabeth,"

"It was Anna, not me!"

"Anna,"

"I'm not really sure..."

"Anna,"

Meryl took in a deep breath, looking ready to blow up. Before she could, Mac slipped into the room and headed over to her, sliding behind the desk to face the eight of us.

"Right, whoever set off the fire alarm will get severe punishments, no missions for the next six months, at least three recruitment missions, four months cleaning the ditches and another three on cleaning duty in the Mission Preparation Building. And fifty laps every day for the next year!" He growled, "One of you set off that alarm, so if you don't want that as a punishment, tell me right now, who did it!" He demanded, before Meryl could warn him it was pointless.

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Anna,"

"Elizabeth,"

"It. Wasn't. Me!"

"Anna,"

"Dunno, really,"

"Anna,"

Mac took a deep breath. Meryl pinched the bridge of her nose. We stood silently, Elizabeth glaring at me for blaming her, everyone else torn between laughter and worry.

"Right, Anna," Mac snapped.

"Wasn't me! You have yet to find solid proof. I am innocent until proven guilty!" I interrupted immediately.

Mac and Meryl attempted to control their tempers. The others attempted to control their laughter. Dan hid his by coughing loudly and very fakely.

"You lot, then, why did you say Anna set off the alarm?" Meryl asked.

They shrugged in unison.

"Because she did," They mumbled, in a pretty much summed up, along-the-lines-of-that way.

Mac and Meryl glared at me.

"Still innocent. I'm allowed my say before you can call me guilty of committing this treacherous crime!" I told them.

Dan coughed louder. Someone fake-sneezed.

"Fine then!" Mac snapped, "Anna, why did you say Elizabeth set the alarm off?"

"Because she did," I replied, just to be difficult.

If Mac or Meryl had had a gun on them, they would've either shot themselves or me.

"So did both of you set off the fire alarm?" Meryl asked.

"No, Elizabeth did," I replied.

"No! Anna did!" Elizabeth growled at the same time.

"Anna-"

"Still innocent!"

More coughs and sneezes.

"Elizabeth, then! How is Anna responsible for setting off the alarm?" Mac demanded.

"Because she broke the glass on it," Elizabeth replied.

"Anna, how is Elizabeth responsible for setting off the alarm?"

"Because she dared me to," I responded.

Having finally gotten to the bottom of the great who-set-off-the-fire-alarm-mystery, Mac and Meryl sat down, Mac stealing a chair from the side of the room.

"Right, Elizabeth, you are partially responsible for this," Mac began.

"What? That's so unfair! She was the one who set the fire alarm off!" Elizabeth squawked indignantly.

Mac silenced her with a glare, "So you'll get half of the punishment. Fifty laps a day for the next two months and cleaning duty in the Mission Preparation Building for three. You can spend a week cleaning the ditches, too,"

Elizabeth considered this for a few moments, then decided she was better off than she would have expected and she should shut it. The worst punishment- the ditches- she only got a week of, and the others were anything from bearable to extremely useful (cleaning in the Mission Preparation Building _had_ to get her _some_ gossip).

Meryl turned to me, "As you know, we've got an alternative punishment scheme for you, Anna,"

I made a face, "The trial run didn't really work out,"

Dan coughed a bit more.

"So, for starters, you'll be tutoring younger children in ICT starting from tomorrow. We usually run a holiday course in most lessons so that agents that have been away can catch up and anyone behind can improve. You can also spend some time teaching French and Portuguese," Meryl went on.

I guessed I could live with that. At the very least I'd get to teach all of the little kids how to swear in French and Portuguese (although German swearwords are my strong point). However, it was extremely annoying to have to waste so much time- I needed to hack into MI6, and I'd also promised to help out Karlie. And was it really that bad that I wanted to just hang out with friends? And maybe sort out what the hell was going on between Dan and I?

I scowled to let Meryl know her punishments had had the desired effects.

"Finally, your laptop will be confiscated until further notice," Meryl finished triumphantly.

That did it. I hit the roof. The other things I could live with, but not that.

"What?" I screeched, "Not. Happening. That is _my _personal shit and you are not touching it!" I crossed my arms and glared at the two of them.

The others looked decidedly awkward. I didn't care. They were _not_ getting my laptop. And definitely not until further notice. I had a secret service to hack into! I didn't want them getting a look at my history, either! I would be so screwed if they ever found out I was intending to hack into MI6.

"I refuse to let you go anywhere my laptop under any circumstances. It is private property, and I am not giving you it," I told them defiantly.

Meryl shrugged, "That's your punishment, Anna. It's your own fault for setting the fire alarm off,"

"And it's your parents fault for making you a moron!" I snapped, "I quite frankly don't give a shit what you think about anything, but you are not entitled to even _touch_ my laptop. Besides," I bluffed, "I've added this new software. If you touch it, it scans your fingerprints. Wrong fingerprints, it jams. Then deletes everything inside,"

Meryl and Mac looked to the others for confirmation that I was serious. They shrugged unknowingly.

"When she starts getting techy I zone out," Dan admitted.

"I've known her about a day," Karlie told them, "If there is a way to do that to a laptop, she will have found it. Heck, I'm quite frankly surprised she didn't go for the exploding option,"

"Then I'd have to buy a new laptop," I told her.

Karlie shrugged, "Guess so,"

Mac and Meryl looked at each other, obviously trying to decide what to do. In the end, Mac shrugged, and Meryl turned back to me.

"If what you've said is true, then tough, you're getting your laptop confiscated whether you like it or not," She addressed the group then, before I could A) punch her B) scream or C) seriously maim or injure both Mac and Meryl, "You can all go now. I don't _ever_ expect to see you in my office because someone set off the fire alarm again in my life,"

"I wouldn't worry," I muttered, glaring, "Your life might end up pretty short,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 58~Emma<p>

My alarm beeped annoyingly at me, and I sat up groggily, looking around my room, still half asleep. I tumbled out of bed and dragged on some normal clothes, splashing my face with cold water to wake up a bit more. My stomach was decidedly torturing me with butterflies. This was my first mission. Ever. And also probably my only chance to find my Mum. If I screwed up the mission, I screwed up my chances. I picked up my suitcase and started down the stairs.

Andrew had said goodbye to me last night, but I was already missing him. It was stupid, really, because on a normal day I wouldn't be meeting up with Andrew for at least another hour, but I still missed him now. Maybe it was just because I was going away, and I didn't know when I would see anyone again right now. It made me guilty that I didn't miss my own sisters and my brother more than I missed my almost-boyfriend, but then, Arron was always away nowadays, studying for exams and trying to get into uni or whatever. And Anna was really annoying sometimes. Gabby wasn't though. I'd said goodbye to her last night. I'd have ask Anna if she'd let Gabby talk to me on her phone.

Mel and Lee were eating at a table when I went to grab some breakfast. I waved at them and headed over to their table, grabbing myself a slice of toast. I was too nervous to eat anything, but I decided I might as well try. I couldn't stop thinking of how similar it was to when I was starting Basic Training. The only major difference now was that Andrew and Raine weren't here, and I was sitting next to two almost complete strangers instead. The original deal had been a better one, I decided.

I didn't mind Mel and Lee, but the two of them had obviously gotten to know each other in a way I hadn't gotten to know them. Those two got on well. For me, it was just awkward. It was like my first day at secondary school, arriving all by myself (well, excluding Anna) and realising I had nothing in common with anyone else in my year group. It was awkward trying to make conversation with anyone, because I just couldn't relate.

"Hiya Emma," Mel smiled, "Ready for your first mission?"

Did she really need to remind me? I attempted a smile, "Not really,"

"No one ever is," Lee sighed, "It's always a big thing. The first one's the hardest. After that, it gets easier with time,"

That was another reason I felt awkward. We were all roughly the same age, but while this was a first, Mel and Lee had gone on loads of other missions before. They were way more experienced than me.

"I suppose," I muttered, my stomach filling with even more butterflies.

Mel checked her watch, "Come on you two- Chloe's wanted to meet us at the gates in ten minutes. If we're gonna meet her on time, we should go,"

I chucked my uneaten toast back on the plate and stood up, "Fine with me. I was finished anyway,"

We cleared our food away and headed out to meet Chloe. It struck me that I'd only really been back on campus for four or five days, and I was already leaving again. Just as with Andrew, I was already missing campus.

"So how's America?" My sister's voice crackled slightly through my phone, which was on speaker, since I was still unpacking.

"Weird," I told her, putting some folded t-shirts into the shelves in my wardrobe in my new, temporary bedroom. The room was pretty basic- a bed, wardrobe, desk and chair.

"Weird how?" Anna demanded.

"I attempted to order a McDonalds' meal a few hours ago. I asked for a Filter Fish with large chips. I got a weird stare from the guy at the counter who told me that they didn't sell chips. I keep forgetting its 'fries' or whatever, in America. What even are chips in America? It's so weird..." I muttered.

Anna laughed, "I heard they call biscuits 'cookies'. So what do they call our version of cookies? And then they call ice lollies 'popsicles' or something! And they call candyfloss 'cotton candy'. It's like the whole thing with Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and them keeping the names of all the other seasons, but changing Autumn to Fall. Why do they even call it Fall? Why do we even call it Autumn?" My sister asked randomly.

"Don't ask me! Google it or something," I told her.

"Dude, I'm not the one who's gonna have to learn all of this to fit in and not get three million weird looks every freaking day," Anna pointed out.

"Fair enough," I sighed, "It just seems pointless having to learn the American version of English,"

"You think? Then again, there are about fifty versions of _English _English. I mean, Karlie has no clue what 'nowt' means. Can you belive that?" Anna asked.

"Well, Karlie used to live in America, remember, Anna?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"So? She's been living in England for the past year! And Elizabeth didn't even know what mintage meant, either! Or what 'get wrong' meant. I mean, seriously, how can anyone not know what 'get wrong' means? It's all there in those two words!"

"Well, I'm not really too bothered about which version of English is which. I was pretty content with the English I already knew. Which brings me to another question. Is the American version of English called American English, English or American?"

Anna laughed again, "You ask yourself so many pointless questions Emma,"

"Says the girl who was trying to figure out why Fall was called Fall and why Autumn was called Autumn," I retorted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's change subjects," Anna grumbled.

I thought for a second, "The weather's pretty much the same as England here," I told Anna, for want of a better subject to discuss, "I was expecting either 40 degrees Celsius or -10. It's basically the same, which is great, because I didn't have any clothes for warmer or colder weather,"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, not really bothered about clothes. Or weather. How was the journey over?"

"Awkward, long, boring. That basically sums it up," I told her, "Mel, Lee and I just don't really relate. The two of them get on great, just not me,"

"Oooooh, anti-social Emma," Tutted Anna teasingly.

"Shut up, you can't talk. All you ever used to do is obsess over our laptop. In fact, that's basically all you _still_ do," I scowled.

"Meh,"

I sucked in a breath and counted to ten. Anna was so freaking annoying!

"Emma?" I heard Chloe yelling up the stairs, "Tea's ready!"

"Gotta go, Anna, but I'll ring sometime soon," I promised.

"See you later, sis. Don't get stabbed or anything. You don't have me around there to protect you all the time," Anna warned.

I snorted sceptically, "Yeah, right, Anna, I'll attempt not to choke on my food or trip down the stairs. God knows that even the smallest trip downstairs will kill me,"

"Well, see you, anyways," My sister told me, and I could imagine her amused grin flitting across her face.

"Bye," I told her, calling off and chucking my phone on my bed.

Reluctantly, I headed downstairs, hoping the meal wouldn't be as awkward as the rest of the day had been.

* * *

><p>Chapter 59~Anna<p>

I decided that the only plus side to my confiscated laptop was that I had chance to trawl through all of the shit on Karlie's stolen one.

After the five Sword Operation PowerPoints with daisies on them, there was a whole load of bullshit about nothing much. I was now looking through the 'Potential Enemies' file. It was pathetic, really. They had a fifty year old neighbour who could shoot a gun better than them, apparently. And for that, he was a potential enemy.

Karlie had gotten lucky on one point, though- the owner of this laptop had a Windows Live Messenger account, and had it set to automatically log in when the computer started up. So basically, we could access any emails or information about Dasakota on it, and the whole database thing on it was completely updated. It even had my Dad, listed as a 'Potential Enemy'. His file was pathetically short;

_Michael Simons_

_Location: Unknown_

_Occupation: MI6 Agent_

_Threat: Knows too much_

I mean, look at it! Seriously! That was _all_ they had put. This whole thing was so completely ridiculous I couldn't stop laughing. And some of the names were hilarious!

_Random Man Who Stalks People_

_Annoying Salesperson That Won't Leave Me Alone_

_The Person Behind Me On The Train Journey To Work_

_The Marshmallow Seller That Won't Sell Anyone Marshmallows_

_That Creepy Clown From The Circus..._

Then I spotted my name. I stopped laughing.

_Anna Simons_

_Location: CHERUB Campus (Grid Reference: Unknown)_

_Occupation: Student, unqualified agent_

_Threat: Too good at hacking_

Seriously? I was a freaking child and they considered _me_ a threat? Because I could hack? What would I have been able to do to them? Change their email passwords?

And then, how the hell did they know I was at CHERUB? Bob had known about CHERUB, sure. I'd expected them to have quite a bit of knowledge on CHERUB Campus, itself (not the location of course, unless Bob had found a more successful way of sending a virus through the online conversation) but I had _not_ expected them to know that I was at CHERUB.

I scanned the rest of the list, trying to find my brother's name, or my sisters'. They weren't on the list. I didn't know whether to be annoyed that they didn't consider Arron, Emma and Gabby a threat (you should see how they react if you accidentally break the waffle maker! I was very nearly killed!) or to laugh at the fact they thought that I was one.

I finished the rest of the list quickly, and moved on to the 'Members' file.

Another set of files popped up;

_Member Basic Information_

_Member Files and Recruiting_

_Status Reports 2001-2009_

_Status Reports 2010-2020_

_Future Plans_

I groaned and clicked on the first one. It was an Access file.

NAME| MEMBER STATUS| DATE JOINED

M.E.|Member|05/01/11

|Member|02/09/04

|Member|11/03/08

|Recent Member|28/12/10

I stared at the table in front of me in disbelief ? ? They _had_ to be kidding. I scrolled further down.

|Senior Member|31/10/05

|Member|24/07/07

|Member|22/12/01

|Member|03/11/04

I groaned in frustration. This list was a piece of shit! I mean, seriously? ? I crossed it off and clicked on the second, hoping it was more promising. It was another Access document, but it looked better than the first. For a start, there were full names, email addresses, branch groups, members status' and 'job's. I poured over the list for several minutes, surprised at how many there were, yet at the same time shocked at how small Dasakota really was. There were less than 200 members according to this list!

Deciding, after a few minutes, that there was no point in reading all of the information on the document unless I was going to memorize it by heart –so not happening- I moved on once more. And regretted it.

The Status Reports for the first five years were, to put it simply, the most boring pieces of shit I could ever bring myself to read. Nothing happened. It only said stuff like; more members recruited. New leader needed. Trouble with local police. It was an even bigger pile of crap than the _Member Basic Information_ stuff.

However, to my approval, the reports started to get more interesting at around 2007. Obviously, things were picking up more now that they were getting enough members to demonstrate or whatever. To do evil deeds and all.

Still, by lunch time I was incredibly bored and my brain was numb. Plus I was getting very hungry. I switched off the laptop and headed downstairs, wondering where Dan and co. were. Fortunately for me, I didn't need to wonder- they were migrating to get lunch, just like me.

Tess and Raine grinned and waved at me from further down the stairs and waited while I caught them up.

"Hi you guys," I grinned, "What've you been doing all morning?"

They shrugged, "Sleeping in," Tess said bluntly.

"I've been on my laptop all morning," I told them.

Raine frowned, "The laptop that was confiscated off you? How'd you get it back?"

"I didn't," I admitted, "I borrowed another off someone else. I'm helping them out with something. Kind of a personal project,"

They acted like they understood that. I didn't think they did, but I wasn't going into any more detail. I was too busy calculating my chances of being able to hack into my own laptop through Karlie's. Of course, it would have to be on if I was going to have any chance at it...

We bumped into Karlie next, who was almost running downstairs to get food.

"Dude, calm down, it's only mince and dumplings, dearest," I told her, grabbing her arm as she flew past.

"I know that," Karlie scowled, "But I am _starving_ I was going over to see how you were coping without your beloved laptop and Elizabeth caught me without makeup! She attacked me! And then she and Tom were going to do her punishment laps and she dragged me along too!" She groaned.

"And that took you the whole morning?" Tess asked as we reached the hall.

"You should've seen how much makeup she put on me! She even painted my nails!"Karlie whined, showing us bright, florescent pink nails.

I laughed at her, "Sucks for you! And remind me never to get on the bad side of Elizabeth again,"

Dan, Jonah, Liam, Zack and Andrew were stuffing their faces with food when we arrived.

"Woah! It's like a little gang of... Hoovers," I muttered, pulling up another chair and sitting down next to Dan.

The other plonked their trays down and managed to get themselves a place at the table.

"So, what's the plan today then?" I asked, "Can we start a food fight or something? I'm bored,"

"Unlike you, Anna, some of us don't have a death wish," Andrew rolled his eyes, "I don't really feel like being back in Meryl's office so soon after... this morning?" He frowned.

"I know, but I've got to do something to get back at Meryl," I frowned, "Otherwise it's just like I've given up or something. I don't do giving up. It's not really my thing,"

Jonah, Zack and Liam were having an avid discussion on something crappy, and Tess, Raine and Karlie were waving Lilly, Elizabeth and Tom over to our table, whilst fiercely (in Karlie's case, anyway) arguing about makeup. That left me in a conversation with Andrew the serious and Dan.

"Yeah, anything to do with defeat isn't your thing," Dan rolled his eyes this time.

"Meh, defeat sucks. There is no satisfaction in being defeated. There is plenty in defeating someone else," I shrugged.

"Unless you defeat someone else and then get told off," Andrew pointed out.

"Stop being a buzz kill and enjoy the moment, Andrew! Sheesh!" I shook my head and shovelled in a mouthful of food.

Elizabeth and Karlie were now arguing loudly about makeup, both looking intensely miserable. Lilly, Tess, Raine and Tom just looked marginally uncomfortable.

"I'm not a buzz kill! I just think and plan ahead!" Andrew argued.

"So stop thinking and planning ahead so much," Dan suggested sarcastically.

"If I did that then I wouldn't get anything done!" Andrew protested.

"Sure you would- you just do it about three minutes before any deadline you have, and if it doesn't have a deadline, don't do it," Dan scoffed.

"Shut up, you two, I'm listening to Karlie and Elizabeth fight. It's amusing," I told them.

The two of them carried on.

"But then you don't get homework done to the best of your abilities and you can't remember what the homework was!"

"So? It's only homework,"

"Only homework! It's part of our coursework for GCSE!" Andrew almost shrieked.

"You should take ICT for GCSE," Dan commented, "You don't get any homework. Well... not much,"

"You have to be _good_ at ICT though, and you're in the bottom group!"

"So? You still don't get homework,"

"seriously! You guys! Shut up! I'm trying to overhear Karlie and Elizabeth's argument! It's hilarious but I can't hear any of it!" I snapped at them.

"If you can't hear it, how do you know it's hilarious?" Andrew pointed out.

"Because A) it's about makeup and B) their facial expressions are hilarious," I retorted, just as Karlie yelled, "You look like a demented panda on steroids!"

All three of us stopped arguing as we turned to stare at Elizabeth and Karlie, just like pretty much the whole of the lunch hall.

"I do not! Without makeup you look like... like... you're fifty!" Elizabeth shrieked back.

"I told you it was hilarious," I muttered to Dan and Andrew under my breath.


	19. If You Read This You Will Explode!

heheheh AVPM reference heheheh (i bet hardly any of you know what that stands for. if you do, you are awesome, if you don't, Google it ;P) anyway, here's some more of my story =)

* * *

><p>Chapter 60~Anna<p>

After what you could call a very eventful lunchtime, Karlie and I crept away up to Karlie's room, stopping briefly at mine to get the laptop. We spent the afternoon talking, and looking through the status reports.

Karlie told me about her family, and I told her about mine. Karlie told me all about her life on the run and how she'd learnt to survive, I told her about being kidnapped. I probably told Karlie more than I'd told anyone about the kidnapping. It was good to get it all out, in some ways. I wasn't bothered about the kidnapping. It had happened ages ago, and it didn't affect me now. Well, apart from feeling uncomfortable in a locked room. I suspected also if a random person I didn't recognise started chasing me I would probably freak out and run away. Especially if it was a little kid. Because, as I have mentioned, little kids terrify me.

Anyway, overall, we had a productive afternoon and managed to finish reading (or skim reading, really, since most of the stuff was too boring for us to read properly) all of the files and documents on the laptop. I would attempt to read through the emails tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning. After that, neither of us knew what to really do. Karlie was all for tracking them all down and getting them arrested or whatever, but, as I pointed out, I wasn't going to do anything _that_ dramatic until I'd found my Dad, and, besides, we didn't technically exist, so how were we supposed to get the arrested? We were the ones who would end up getting arrested, probably.

So with the intention of finishing off later- like you do with homework, you know- we went downstairs to eat.

"So how exactly are you intending to find your Dad?" Karlie asked nonchalantly as she bit into an apple.

I looked at her, "You seriously expect me to divulge my diabolical master plans to you?"

"... Yup," Karlie mumbled through her mouthful of apple.

"I'm gonna hack into MI6 and get some clues. Then I'm gonna go to Meryl and demand she let me help out with the search for my Dad. I don't care what she thinks, she's gonna let me," I shrugged.

Karlie swallowed the mouthful, "Good plan," She told me.

"I know- I'm freaking amazing at coming up with my diabolical master plans. I like the word diabolical, you know? It's such an awesome word. Like Nemesis. Nemesis is such an awesome word too," I mumbled.

"I'm pretty sure you've already told me that," Karlie groaned.

"I probably have. But it's still an awesome word," I admitted.

"Whatever, just, next time, don't feel the need to tell me all about it," Karlie warned me.

I mock saluted her in answer and shovelled in my last few mouthfuls of food. I stood up and looked about, "Well, I'm going to go get a social life for half an hour then maybe do everything to procrastinate rather than looking through all those dreaded emails," I made a face thinking of Karlie's laptop which we had deposited in my room on the way downstairs.

Karlie laughed, "Meanwhile, I am going to try and regain my loner status by hiding out in my room," She made a face, "Meryl's got me on some shit sort of catch up scheme. I've got to work. In the holidays,"

I made a face too, thinking of my assignment to teach French, Portuguese and ICT to little kiddies. Meryl had slipped me some sort of demented timetable with three hours worth of teaching every other day. It was a load of bullshit. "Dude, I've got to teach people on the catch up schemes. In the holidays,"

Karlie shrugged, "Your problem, not mine,"

I looked at her, "Ditto,"

We parted ways on Dan's floor, since that was where I was heading and where Karlie wasn't. I knocked on Dan's door and barged in. Dan looked up from his place on the floor. It looked like he was meditating or something.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"Trying to 'empty my mind'," Dan told me.

"Um... why?"

"Because Andrew and Liam bet me £5 each that I couldn't do it," Dan replied.

"So why don't you just claim you did and not bother?" I demanded, moving to sit on the floor opposite him.

"I dunno. It seemed too untruthful. Plus I wanted to see if I could," Dan shrugged, closing his eyes and frowning in concentration.

"And can you?"

"Not when people are talking to me," He said pointedly, eyes still closed.

"I'll shut up then," I muttered, rolling my eyes, and leaning back.

A minute of silence. Then another.

"How did you even get into a conversation about 'emptying your mind' and betting anyway?" I asked, the shutting up thing forgotten.

Dan opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were gonna be quiet?"

"I was. Now I'm not," I shrugged, "So how did you get to that specific conversation?"

"Andrew was attempting to meditate and told Liam and me to shut up 'cos he was concentrating on emptying his mind. Naturally, Liam and I found it amusing to take the piss and copy off him. Then we just randomly came up with that,"

I nodded, randomly, just 'cos everyone seems to do that at some point in their life, "Cool,"

"So where've you been practically all of today? You disappeared after lunch time and I haven't seen you since. And it's 8 o'clock now," Dan asked.

"I've been doing research for my diabolical master plans," I told him mysteriously.

"Uh huh," Dan muttered sarcastically, then paused, "Does anyone even research stuff for their evil diabolical master plans?"

I thought for a second, "I suppose so, I mean, otherwise they would have no clue how to- wait... I'm pretty sure it's only fictional characters who have evil diabolical master plans..."

"And that makes a difference?"

"Well, yeah, because then it wouldn't be the evil diabolical mastermind doing research for their evil diabolical master plans! It would be the person writing the book!"

"...so?"

"So it wouldn't be a fictional character doing the research for their evil diabolical master plans, it would be an actual real person!" I retorted.

"...wasn't that the point in the first place?" Dan asked, confused.

"No! It was... argh! Now you've confused me!" I growled at him.

Dan grinned, "I am awesome,"

"Shove off to Pigfarts you freak,"

"What?" Dan gawped, "What the hell is Pigfarts?"

"It is the basis of one of my many evil diabolical master plans," I told him knowingly.

"Your evil diabolical master plans involve a pig farting?"

"No! They involve a place _called_ Pigfarts! Honestly, Dan, if you're gonna get it wrong get it right!" I tutted.

"Go away!" Dan groaned.

"You're just jealous that you've never heard of a place called Pigfarts," I told him.

"I am not! You're just making up imaginary places to make me supposedly feel jealous!" Dan argued.

"So you admit that you are jealous that I know about Pigfarts?" I jumped in.

"NO! Shut up about Pigfarts! I'm trying to empty my mind here!" Dan snapped grouchily.

"Sure, any excuse," I rolled my eyes.

"You are seriously annoying me, you know,"

"That's what I'm here for!" I grinned cheerfully.

Dan leaned forward, "Oh, really? You came up here to waste all your time and annoy me for the fun of it,"

I leaned forward too, "Yup, because I have so much free time during the holidays that I can afford to waste it annoying you,"

I was aware of how close our faces were. Close as in, very close. As in very, very close. I wasn't going to lean back first though. Dan had a slightly evil looking, slightly cheeky smile on his face.

"So... you don't want to waste your time hacking into someone else's stuff or annoying the hell out of someone like Meryl for confiscating your laptop?"

"Nah," I smiled, looking into his eyes, "that's not half as fun. Meryl a boring sod and I can't see people's faces when they discover I've hacked their stuff,"

"Wow... great. I'm guess I'm stuck with Anna the Annoying Freak," Dan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm an annoying freak, but I'm ten times the annoying freak you'll ever be!" I retorted.

"Whatever," Dan shrugged, "I can deal with that,"

Neither of us had pulled away. Neither of us had moved in that little bit further. We were both hesitating, wondering if we should make the next move. I realised that Dan and I were probably never gonna be like Elizabeth and Tom- strolls around campus- or Emma and Andrew –holding hands all the time- we were just going to be the way we were- not doing the public show of affection shit and teasing each other a lot. It was how we were.

I involuntarily moved forward, pressing my forehead against Dan's. Then Dan brushed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes, pressing my lips against him and kissing him, leaning forward more. I wrapped my arms around Dan's neck as we kissed. Dan's hands snaked through me hair, leaving my skin tingling. Dan pulled me into him, moving his lips in perfect synchrony with mine. It felt amazing. I knew, in that moment, that I wanted to be with Dan, and I no longer cared what anyone- least of all Liam- thought about it. Finally, I pulled back, breathlessly.

Dan and I sat in a sort of stunned well-I-hadn't-exactly-been-expecting-that-to-happen silence, catching our breath. Slowly, an amazed grin crept over Dan's face. I grinned back, unable to think of anything to say that would describe how I felt, or what had just happened.

After a minute, Dan got to his feet, "Fancy a walk?" He asked, holding out a hand.

I looked up at him, smiling. We may never be like Elizabeth and Tom, or Andrew and Elizabeth but that didn't mean we couldn't do the romantic stuff. It would just be different- because we were different. I took Dan's hand.

* * *

><p>Chapter 61~Emma<p>

I stared at my wardrobe in panic. I'd never considered it when I'd packed my clothes a few days ago, but in America, they didn't have to wear school uniform. So I had no clue what to wear. I mean, would jeans and a t-shirt be ok? Was there a dress code? Did all of the girls have to wear skirts or dresses? Was denim banned? I had no clue! And I never, ever, by the way, thought I'd have wardrobe problems. Jeans and a t-shirt usually sort out every clothes need.

I debated whether or not to ask Mel what she was wearing to school, but decided not to. I didn't see why I had to ask other people for advice on my clothes. I grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a grey top with a bunch of random words on it, and shoved them on. Grey and black. You couldn't go wrong with those colours.

I took a long, slightly shaky breath and checked out my appearance in the mirror, pulling my hair back into a ponytail. Finally, after a few more minutes of staring at my reflection, I deemed myself reasonably presentable. I knew I had to make the right impression at school. First impressions count. I really hoped I'd give a good impression at school.

I grabbed my backpack off the bed and headed downstairs. Chloe had left for work half an hour ago and Frank (the only real Hestford family member present in Atlantic City) had disappeared to the shops or something. Lee had left earlier, hoping to catch Marcus (his 'target' who liked to get to school early for some reason). I mean, I can understand getting to school, but not the early part. School started so early in the morning it was unbelievable!

Anyway, Mel and I were the only ones in the house, and I was intending to get out before Mel, to save the awkwardness of having to make small talk because we didn't really know each other too well. I had no clue when my 'target' Sophie, would arrive at school, but I wasn't intending to arrive late, so I grabbed myself a piece of toast and headed out of the door.

The school I had been enrolled at was less than a mile away, so I didn't need to catch a bus or get driven there; I could walk. I set off at a brisk pace, my nerves making it hard to walk at my normal, slow pace. I could feel the butterflies now possibly eating the inside of my stomach. To keep my mind off my nervousness, I focussed on not getting lost on the way to school. That, at least, wasn't such an impossible task; there were quite a lot of students going to the same place, so I just followed the ones that looked the same age as me.

Finally, I reached the school gates. I stood there, staring at them, for several moments, feeling completely and utterly intimidated by them. They were terrifying.

It was as I was standing at the gates, in my moment of apprehension, that I felt a slight tingling on the back of my neck. It felt like someone was watching me. Subtly, I glanced around the area outside the school. The road and pavements were busy, though, with plenty of students being dropped off or arriving, and plenty of parents wanting to get to work. I didn't spot any specific person. I shook my head slightly, and turned back to the gates. I was being stupid. There were loads of other people here. Why would anyone be looking at me for any other reason than that I was new? I took a deep breath and headed for the reception office.

"I'm Carinthia Hestford, I'm new," I told the receptionist, hoping she had more of a clue of what she was doing then I was.

"Of course," The receptionist smiled, producing a map of the school for me, my timetable and a list of various other things. I sorted through the stuff until I found my form room and teacher.

Using the map, I managed (after about twenty minutes of thanking God I'd arrived early) to find the right place and stood in the doorway, unsure where I was supposed to go. Did I just sit down at a desk? Or where there specific desks for everyone? I was, at least, not looking too conspicuous- there were several other people already in, who were also wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I must have looked really panicked, 'cos a girl already inside spotted me and grinned, heading over.

"Are you the new girl then?" She asked curiously, "Carinthia, right?"

I nodded, smiling slightly, "That's me," I was, as I had been ever since arriving in America, overly aware of how posh and English I sounded.

The girl smiled, "So you're from England then?"

"Did my accent give it away?" I asked sarcastically.

"Nah, I read it in your student file," She retorted quickly, with a friendly smile, "I'm Sophie, by the way, Sophie Farrow,"

Well, at least my 'target' is nice, and not a complete bitch then, I thought to myself.

"Nice to meet you," I told her.

"Hey Sophie! Who's your new friend over there?" A girl yelled from across the classroom.

Sophie, her back to the girl made a face at me. Clearly, she didn't like the girl, whoever she was. Her voice was neutral as she replied, "Carinthia. She's new. I wouldn't get your hopes up, though, Paula, she doesn't seem to be a complete bitch like you,"

Paula didn't reply. She simply flicked her hair out of her eyes in a completely fake sort of way, smirked and turned back to a small group of girls. All of them seemed to be wearing dangerously short skirts and awkwardly low tops. The amount of makeup caked on their faces was just unhealthy.

Sophie smiled at me again, "Come on over with me and my friends. You can hang out with us if you want. We'll show you around for your lessons and stuff,"

"Thanks," I nodded to her to show my appreciation. I looked around the classroom again, "So I take it you don't like that girl- Paula- then?"

Sophie looked at me in a sort of you-have-to-be-kidding-me look, "She's horrible! And obsessed with fashion and makeup. It drives me insane! Some fashion, some makeup, sure, but have you seen the amount of the stuff she's got on her faces? And Paula has about three of everything if it's got a designer label. She's got more clothes than brains,"

I shook my head in amazement, still wondering slightly whether the girls around Paula were at risk of dying from too much makeup.

Sophie introduced me to her two other friends; Jan and Tina. Jan was taller than me- and probably Anna- with black hair past her waist and piercing grey eyes. Tina was short, with ginger hair in two plaits and emerald green eyes.

Before we could start any real conversation, the form teacher came in. Sophie patted a desk next to her seat and gestured for me to sit down. I slipped into the seat quickly and turned to face the teacher. I missed CHERUB campus, and Andrew. And Anna's craziness and bold, outright way of making friends. I hoped for all I was worth that this day wouldn't be one of those horrible long days that drag on for eternity.

* * *

><p>Chapter 62<p>

Lola cursed at the door in front of her and kicked it open roughly. The door came off its hinges and flew into the room. Lola glared at it and stomped into her temporary office. Jason was sitting waiting for her, perched on the side of her desk.

"Jason," Lola sighed impatiently, "What do you want?"

Jason pulled out his phone (brand new, touch screen, 4 megapixel camera, and so on, as he kept boasting) and tapped the screen a few times, "Thought you might recognise this," He said nonchalantly.

He held up the phone and on the screen was a picture of a person. A teenage girl. Lola grabbed the phone off him and stared at it for a few seconds.

"Of course I recognise this. It's my daughter you moron," Lola spat at him, "So how did _you_ end up with a picture of her?"

Jason raised an eyebrow, "Do you recognise the background?" He demanded.

Lola looked closely at the photo and, to her astonishment she saw the gates to the local high school in the background. Emma was standing, looking almost directly at the camera, in front of the local high school, in Atlantic City. In America. How had she gotten there?

"When did you take this photo?" She asked sharply.

"I was making m way over here this morning when I happened to spot her. Emma, is it? Well, anyway, I spotted her outside the school. Thought you might know why she's here. Evidentially not,"

"Why is she in America?" Lola demanded to no one in particular, "What is she doing here? Did she follow me here? Or has she been adopted or something? If so, where is Arron and Anna and Gabby?" Lola was panicking now. There wasn't a single day that went by where she regretted leaving her children behind, but she'd never imagined her children arriving here!

Jason, who had been waiting patiently for her little rant to finish, sighed, "If Green finds out about this, she's gonna ban you from going anywhere near Emma," He told Lola.

"I already knew that, Jason. What's your point?" Lola sighed, wishing she didn't have to put up with Jason's way of meandering slowly towards the point he was getting at.

"If Green doesn't," Jason continued, unperturbed, "then it's not technically against any rules to track down your daughter, find out why she's here and talk to her,"

Lola paused for a second, thinking, "I'll start looking for her tonight, maybe. I can't all of a sudden stop working. I'll do it tonight," She told herself.

Lola didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified of what she might find out if she did find Emma and talk to her. Lola had no clue where Emma had been for the past three or four months, so why had she suddenly turned up now? And what on Earth had happened to her siblings? Lola bit her lip worriedly and handed Jason back his phone, sitting down and getting started on her work.

* * *

><p>Chapter 63<p>

Peter shut the laptop in front of him and leaned back in his chair, sighing. The files had been decrypted and he'd managed to find this new software some nerds in MI6 had developed that enabled you to upload it onto any computer and see whatever the person on it was looking at. It was (he hoped) almost impossible to detect on the computer.

Peter picked up the laptop carefully and slid it into a briefcase. He didn't want Francis to spot it and ask him what it was. And he certainly didn't want Francis getting suspicious. Over the past few weeks Francis had been working his way up to the top. He was practically Karp's right-hand man and Karp was forever asking his advice. Peter knew anything he did that looked remotely suspicious would be told straight to Karp.

Sneaking out to CHERUB Campus to see Mac and Meryl had become more and more impossible. He knew Francis had convinced Karp to keep track of where all of the agents went, so he had to be particularly sneaky to get anywhere.

What annoyed Peter the most, possibly, was the fact that Michael and he had badgered Karp about a spy for roughly five months before Michael's disappearance and Karp had not listened to a word of it. However, in less than a month of Peter meeting Francis, the man had already convinced Karp that there was a spy in MI6. Francis had pointed out all the facts Peter and Michael had, yet, for some reason, Karp was actually listening.

Suddenly Francis opened the office door and walked in. Peter turned away slightly to make a face at the wall. Speak of the devil, he thought to himself.

"Do you know where Admond is? I need to give him the information we found out for the Manchester prison thing?" Francis demanded, dropping a load of files onto his desk- Michael's desk, really. When Michael had disappeared, people had come in and taken all the paperwork away. 'Looking for clues' they said. They had never found anything useful in the papers, so they'd been binned- no point keeping paperwork for an agent that's presumed dead.

"How should I know?" Peter sighed, turning to look at Francis, since subtlety was his way, and we was never going to tell Francis that he disliked him outright, "Why don't you go ask Sid- he'll know. He always knows where everyone is,"

Francis frowned, "Who?" He asked, confused.

"The Spider," Peter sighed, "He usually hangs around these few corridors. He'll be easy to find,"

Francis made a face, but seemed to remember Peter, and, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, "No thanks, I'll just go find Admond myself," He grabbed a folder off his pile and headed to the door.

Peter stared at him in confusion, then added, "It would be a lot easier on you to just go find him. It'll save you a lot of time,"

Francis turned back, "The Spider and I don't really get along all too well," His tone indicated that he didn't want to talk to Peter about this anymore, and Francis left the office quickly, leaving Peter in a bemused state.

Why did Francis not like The Spider? And even if he didn't, why was that suddenly a reason not to have a two minute conversation with him? It wasn't that hard to ask someone if they'd seen someone else! And The Spider was laid back- Peter found it hard to imagine him really hating someone else. Maybe The Spider had gotten evidence of Francis being a spy, so Francis was avoiding him... No, Peter shook his head, he had no doubts that if Francis got suspicious of anyone, he would turn them into Karp and claim them to be the spy immediately. So it wasn't that.

But whatever the reason, there was something odd about the fact that Francis and The Spider didn't get on. Maybe this was even more evidence that Francis was the spy. The only problem was; How the hell was Peter going to be able to convince Karp that his almost-right-hand man was the traitor?


	20. Do YOU Like Waffles?

I have updated again! I can have a days rest before going back to typing furiously! Notice the chapter title? Has anyone heard that song? It's such an amusing song...

Do you like waffles

yeah we like waffles

do you like pancakes,

yeah we like pancakes,

do you like french toast,

yeah we like french toast,

do do do do CANT WAIT TO GET A MOUTHFUL!

WAFFLES!

Ok, ok, I'll shut up and stop singing now...

So, onto the story!

* * *

><p>Chapter 64~Anna<p>

I managed to look at the emails on 'Karlie's laptop' when I got back from messing around with Dan. Admittedly, it was a lot later when I finally got round to doing it than I had anticipated, but at least I actually read some of them.

Most of them were just file updates for the laptop, nothing more, but there were occasional ones from a certain Manchester branch that got me very suspicious indeed. I leafed through them, reading. Reports of break ins came from all around the London branch of Dasakota, which I suspected might have been Karlie's doing- at least partly. Liverpool and Devon branches were complaining of a lack of sufficient members to pull of major operations. All pathetic long words for a basically mini gang who wanted to act all big and tough but didn't have the guts to do so in a small group. Ipswich was updating about a recent breakthrough with the police- they now had a chief constable and several police officers accepting their bribes to leak information and to turn a blind eye on certain crimes. The same went with Chester.

I was shocked at how many different branches there were, even though I knew that Dasakota was a serious group. However, that wasn't my most pressing concern. That was reserved for the emails from the Manchester branch. They were all talking about a certain prison they were intending to break into, with the intention of rescuing 'a package' that had been 'earlier detained'. I had no clue what it was about (although I was pretty sure that the package was obviously a person... unless someone had stolen their post...), but they gave me a rough idea of when it was going to happen- less than a week away! There wasn't an exact date. They were promising that soon, apparently.

I wondered for a second whether I should tell Mac, or Meryl, or someone similar about this. I mean, they could possibly stop Dasakota from breaking into a prison- definitely not a good thing. On the other hand, I couldn't exactly show them this laptop- they would nab it off me immediately. And I wasn't admitting to Karlie that, after she'd kept it intact for 6 months, I'd gotten it confiscated in about two days. Especially since it was only about twenty hours ago that I'd had my own laptop confiscated. Yet another reason not to tell Meryl- personal vengeance. Although it wouldn't be much of a personal vengeance if that meant Dasakota achieved one of their diabolical plans...

I bit my lip and sighed. I couldn't exactly do anything about the prison break in. I wasn't gonna tell Mac or Meryl or anyone else. But I had to tell _someone_. I just couldn't think of who...

I mulled over my dilemma for a while before shrugging it off and deciding I was too tired to give a shit. I climbed into bed and – a new low for me- grabbed the one book I actually owned from under the mattress (I am one who owns books with shame) for some late night reading.

The next day I was back to my normal, sane, non-book-reading self. And the book was safely but shamefully hidden under my mattress again. Karlie popped down at the crack of freaking dawn to see how I'd gotten on.

"I found out some shit," I grumbled, dragging a pillow over my head as Karlie flicked on the lights, "Go read it yourself and leave me alone!"

"Anything useful?" Karlie demanded, "Because I need to get the laptop back so I can work on looking through the member details and ringing up a few friends who owe me favours. And I need to get going early- I'm on an 'extra fitness' training thing. It's gonna be really sucky,"

"Poor you. I'm on a sleeping in training thing. Then at ten I've got to start my first lesson. So go away, I want to sleep," I mumbled into my pillow, only all too aware of how awake I already was. I would never be able to get back to sleep now.

I could literally hear Karlie rolling her eyes, "Fine, I take it your finished with the laptop?" A muffled grunt was her only reply. "I'll take it with me then. See you later, grumpy guts," She called, presumably heading out.

However, she had left the lights on and the door wide open. I hated that girl... I sat up groggily and stumbled over to the door, shutting it and switching the lights off before attempting to sleep in a little bit longer.

After ten minutes, I realised getting back to sleep was not going to happen. Grumpily, I got up and dressed and decided I needed to plot my vengeance later. Preferably after I'd eaten. I stomped sulkily down to the lunch hall, grabbed some waffles (mmmmmm) and poured golden syrup and chocolate sauce all over them before nicking off with the plate and taking it back up to my room to eat. Hopefully, no one would notice the missing plate... I'd give it back later. Maybe...

Today, I decided, was going to be a lazy day. I was going to sit in bed, mess around, eat and do nothing else. Then, of course, reality burst in and my plans crashed and burned. I had to actually _teach_ today, _and_ I had no laptop to mess around on! I was gonna have to get my own back on Meryl for that...

I sighed and ate my waffles, my mood having gone from incredibly pissed off –from being woken up- to content –because I had waffles and was planning a lazy day- to seriously incredibly pissed off- because I had to teach and had no laptop.

Eventually (at three minutes to ten exactly) I got up and headed over to the education block. I was teaching some red shirts French. At eleven, Portuguese, then, at three I was teaching ICT to agents who needed help catching up. I hated school more than ever...

I arrived in the right class room five minutes late, to find ten little kiddies sitting waiting for me at random desks. And realised I probably should've planned my lesson a bit further than 'teach them fuck-all'.

"Right, so I'm gonna teach you guys French. Hopefully. So..." I pondered over what the hell to say for a minute, then asked, "What French do you guys already know? And do any of you know any good French swear words?" I added the last sentence in purely for amusement.

Hands shot up.

"Well," I muttered to myself, "That wasn't so hard,"

I pointed to a random red shirt.

"I know that French people eat snails!" The little girl replied excitedly.

"Or not..."

* * *

><p>Chapter 65~Emma<p>

"So, where did you move from then?" Sophie asked as she lead me to the lunch hall- Jan and Tina were, apparently, meeting us there.

"Outskirts of London," I shrugged, "I've been in America for about a year, but my Dad won't stop moving around. He doesn't protest at all when we've settled down for two months in one state, then his work decides to move us about a hundred miles west!"

Sophie smiled sympathetically, "I'm sure you guys will settle down properly at some point. I used to hate moving around from place to place so much,"

Her sympathy just made me feel guilty for lying to her about everything. I felt so ridiculously fake. On the other hand, Sophie, Jan, Tina and I had been getting on quite well so far, and I was well on my way to being firm friends with her, which was great- not just for the mission, but because I needed _some_ friends to hang out with instead of constantly feeling awkward around Lee and Mel. Or Yvonne and Tam.

"Yeah, I hope it's sooner than later, though. I am getting _so_ behind in school work! And I may be serious, read book and am clever, but that is something I never thought I'd find myself complaining about," I told her.

My frustration was true enough- it was how I had been feeling when Andrew had offered to show me some of the work I'd missed out on during Basic Training. I had felt so far behind!

Sophie laughed lightly, "Well, luckily, here they don't really care about our education. They come here for money, we come here so our parents don't slaughter us. It's kinda depressing, but, on the bright side, it means we have barely any homework, or schoolwork,"

We reached the lunch hall, and Sophie led me to one side, where we grabbed trays and helped ourselves to a jacket potato, some soggy looking cooked carrots, a slice of thin, evil looking chicken and a slice of bread. There were bowls set out and we were free to take a slice of cake each.

"Wow," I muttered, as I sat down next to Tina, "This looks..."

"Pukeworthy?" Tine supplied.

"Vile?" Jan added.

"Like your average mega-disgusting normal school dinner?" Sophie sighed, stabbing randomly at her potato with her fork.

"Pretty much," I grumbled, feeling put off.

I might have only been back from Basic Training a few days, but even then, my expectations on food had grown considerably higher. I forced down some potato and half of my chicken before deciding that if I ate any more there was a danger that I might actually be sick. The cake, I decided, was the only thing that could be called 'vaguely edible'. The rest was pretty much the worst food I'd had. Ever.

Well... apart from maybe that time when Anna decided to 'experiment' when cooking tea. We'd ended up with chicken nuggets and a banana and mash mix. Gabby had decided that ketchup would make it taste better. It hadn't. Arron had suggested we turned them into sandwiches. That made it worse. Eventually, I'd suggested that I make everyone some pasta for tea. For some odd reason, everyone but Anna had agreed. Anna was determined to prove us all wrong and had forced herself to eat every last mouthful of her food. She'd gotten ill the next day, mind.

The afternoon lessons dragged on, after lunch, and I was slowly beginning to pick up people's names, and recognise some parts of the school. Mostly, however, I depended on Sophie to guide me everywhere. I was thankful that CHERUB had decided that, to help me make friends with Sophie, I would have the almost exactly the same classes as her. The classes we didn't share, I had with Tina or Jan, which meant I didn't ever run the risk of being lost.

I was well and truly introduced to Paula during the last lesson of the day. It was Geography, and we were learning something about volcanoes. Tina and Sophie were sitting next to me. Tina was reading a book under her desk, Sophie was almost asleep.

Wanting to make a good impression, I attempted to sit up straight and listen. I managed it for a full two minutes before slumping down in my seats and letting everything the teacher said fly straight over my head.

However, the paper aeroplane Paula threw in our direction didn't fly straight over my head. It hit me in the face. I scowled and crumpled the paper up, pushing it to the edge of my desk. I'd chuck it in the bin on the way out.

Another piece of paper flew at me a few minutes late, narrowly missing me and landing on the floor behind me. I ignored it, getting a bit annoyed at Paula, who was smirking at me and laughing with her friends.

Tina was still reading, completely oblivious. Sophie was asleep mostly. Another piece of paper was tossed at me, this time evidentially no one could have been bothered to fold it into a plane, so it was a massive lump of scrumpled up paper. It hit the desk and slid in front of Tina.

Tina looked up, flicked the paper away, glared at Paula, then gave me a sympathetic shrug. And went back to her book. A piece of paper bounced off the desk and onto the floor. Then one hit me in the back. Another did a few seconds later. A third one flew straight over my shoulder and almost hit the teacher, who carried on, oblivious.

Tina got some paper in her face several times, and a couple thrown at her back. I looked at the floor around our desks and almost laughed as I saw we were getting little piles of paper around it. Almost. It would have been more funny if we weren't the ones who were going to get blamed for it, and if we weren't the ones who was getting it chucked in our faces.

Another piece of paper hit me in the back. Tina got three more. She didn't even blink an eyelid at it; just kept on reading. I was reading to slap someone. Paula's smirking was getting louder and more prominent on her ugly face, and the giggling from her little gang of extreme fashion obsessists was getting louder than the teacher. Who still hadn't noticed. Or maybe was pretending not to.

Then something hard clunked on the desk. I stared incredulously at the compass in front of me. Had someone seriously just thrown that? What if it had actually hit someone and hurt them? Paper was one thing, but sharp, pointy needles on the end of heavy-ish compasses was something else entirely.

I glared viciously at Paula, but, too my frustration, only raised more giggling from her little pack of hyenas. Turning around, I clenched my jaw and forced myself to pay attention to the lesson- before I did something probably embarrassing that I would always be reminded of for the rest of my life.

* * *

><p>Chapter 66<p>

Nervously, Francis peered around the office he shared with Peter. Seeing no one and no sign of Peter coming back into the office for at least another hour, Francis darted quickly over to Peter's side of the room, breathing sharply, aware that anyone could walk in any second now. He'd worked hard, manipulated Karp so he had a secure position- he wouldn't be fired if anyone caught him looking through other peoples' stuff because he had Karp to back him up on anything, and no one would want to get on his bad side.

He'd made sure to look formidable enough, whilst still looking non-threatening and non-double-crossing. No one was suspicious of him. But everyone was scared just to the exact degree that they did not want to get on his bad side.

Francis rifled through Kenedy's draw frantically, not trusting his luck, knowing he should spend as little time as possible in an incriminating situation. Suspicion was the last thing he needed.

Before long, he had found what he was looking for- a laptop. One that wasn't Kenedy's but one that he had seen before. He switched it on and is fingers flew across the keyboard as he got to work on what he needed to do. It didn't take too long, but every second felt at least three hours longer than it should. Finally he was done. With a smile of satisfaction, Francis switched the laptop off again and replaced it where he had found it.

A minute later and Francis was already heading out to get to the safe house. He needed to give Fred his report.

Before he could leave the MI6 compound, however, he bumped into Karp. Taking a deep breath to contain his annoyance, Francis prepared himself for a conversation with the Manchester Moron.

"Francis! I was just looking for you!" Karp called out.

"Really? I was just heading out- you would've missed me if I hadn't stopped by my office on the way out," Francis smiled fakely.

"Yes, yes, good timing, so on," Karp waved away, "Listen, I need you in the office early tomorrow morning. We have some possible new leads on the date of the Manchester prison break in, but I need your advice on whether or not to follow up on them,"

Francis felt a tingle of smugness at the way the Commander was asking a lowly- and recently new- agent for advice, but didn't let it show, "Of course, Commander, I'll be there,"

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow then, Francis," Karp told him strictly, then headed out.

Breathing out an annoyed sigh, Francis moved on, getting into his car and heading to the safe house. He arrived half an hour later, pulling up the car, grimacing as he saw Simon's car already parked on the drive. Clearly, the other man was trying to get back in Fred's good books by arriving in early and making him look late.

That man was really getting on his nerves, and obviously didn't understand how to manipulate his way into being important. But that was ok. It meant Fred didn't question or doubt the work and information Francis gave him. Compared to Simon, Francis' reports were full and plentiful. But his position could change at any moment. Francis needed to be careful- he was playing a dangerous game.

Fred, Franco and Simon were waiting for Francis in the meeting room. Sam was looking severely displeased about being put on babysitting duty with Jeremy, but gave no word of complaint- Jeremy would only moan all the more if he knew how much they disliked the boy's ugly, annoying face.

"Sorry I've kept you waiting," Francis apologised as he quietly shut the door to the meeting room.

Fred waved away his apology, "It's fine- we were only waiting a few minutes anyway,"

Simon scowled to himself. Simon was obviously annoyed because he knew that Fred would never dismiss him so easily if Simon ever turned up late.

Fred spotted Simon's scowl and berated him for it, "There's no need to scowl, Simon. I let Francis off because the man has been working extremely hard lately, and finding out extremely useful information. Perhaps if you upped your game, I would give you the same treatment,"

Fred had forbidden the two of them from knowing who the other double agent in MI6 was at first, but it hadn't been too hard at all for the two of them to recognise each other at MI6, and Fred had given up after a while.

"So," Franco began, eager to cut to the chase, "Anything to discus about MI6 before we move onto the prison plan?"

Simon and Francis, had they been better friends, would've shared an exasperated look, since Franco was quickly becoming obsessed with the weekly gossip of the Manchester section of MI6. However, the two of them were more like enemies, so they did not.

Since Simon- yet again- had nothing to distribute to their current conversation, Francis stepped forward and started, "I've got Karp well and truly wrapped around my little finger. He believes everything I tell him, and has taken to asking me for advice about the smallest of things. I think this will prove useful later on. Franco, Jude and Dixon broke up earlier today, so you owe Sam ten quid, and Henry and Harold are currently on shredding duty for the next month because the two of them screwed up their mission in Saudi Arabia. Though they argued that it wasn't their fault that 'the pineapple chunks ended up stuck to the subject's face',"

Franco scowled at the news of the breakup, and grinned slightly at the excuse the two agents had given. He had been talking to Francis- and Simon- about all the members in MI6, purely out of boredom, and had gotten to know them all quite well, though he had never met nor seen any of them.

Francis continued less enthusiastically, though the change was barely noticeable, "I am confident that Karp will not be in contact with Mac for quite some time, so, for now, CHERUB is out of the picture. However, I am worried about Kenedy. I fear that the man is still passing information onto Mac.

Fred sighed, slightly impatiently- Francis had admitted this several times already, and had yet to do anything about it, "So frame him! Catch him in the act! Get him fired, or demoted! Just make sure he doesn't get any vital information! CHERUB is the one wildcard; we don't have anyone on the inside. We can't control what they do! We can't afford to make any slips. The prison break is too soon for us to be able to make mistakes. Work together, the two of you! Make it your aim for the next few days to catch him out!"

Simon protested angrily, "I am in a precarious position right now, Fred. One false move and I'll be the one fired, not Kenedy! If I want a job there still, I need to keep low on the radar, and work my way back up again! It's going to be hard for me to get close to Kenedy! Francis is his work partner! Surely it would be easy enough to frame him for something! I think Francis is holding back!"

Francis did not answer immediately- he needed to word his answer carefully. He didn't want to say the wrong thing. And he didn't want to make the others suspicious of him, "I should be able to do something about Kenedy, soon, but I am so busy with Karp! Keeping up his reliance upon me is, I feel, vital to our success," He hoped Simon wouldn't have heard, or would feel the need to point out, that Peter did not trust Francis an ounce.

Because that would mean he would have to explain the way he had been acting. He didn't want Fred, Franco or Simon to know that he wanted Peter to be suspicious of him- just not enough to get him kicked out of MI6- and that the way Peter was reacting was exactly as he'd planned- and hoped.

Fred sighed, running a hand through his receding hair line, "Fine! But I expect results soon. From both of you,"

Simon nodded grumpily, "I shall dream up an excuse to get near Kenedy. Hopefully something will work, without leading to me being fired,"

The three of them turned to Francis, who sucked in a tired breath, "I'll work on Kenedy when I'm not with Karp," He promised, not saying specifically what he would be doing- because if there was anyone in MI6 who he wanted to know that he was a spy, it was Peter, and Francis had to get a message across to the man very clearly. He was a spy. He was a traitor.

His words seemed enough to reassure them, and the tense atmosphere of the meeting evaporated as they headed out to rescue Sam from Jeremy.

Francis sighed in relief as he followed them out. Double crossing people was a dangerous game. Especially when either side you were working for could catch you out at any given moment. Especially when you were double crossing spies _and_ an incredibly influential antigovernment group. Francis should know. He was, after all, double crossing both Dasakota and MI6. But, of course, none of them knew -or could ever know- about that...

* * *

><p>heheheheheh Francis is a... double traitor? is a triple agent? hmmmmmmmm dunno if that makes much sense, but still! ahhh you know, I think I might leave you guys hanging in suspense for a few weeks, you know?<p>

Just kidding. I will (hopefeully) (cross my fingers and hope to die stick a needle in my eye) (actually... maybe not that far...) update again soon!


	21. Emma, a tiny amount of Lola and no Anna

argh I know! I'm a very horrible person for not updating sooner! I solemly swear to try harder! =) but I have been doing this very strange thing, lately, called _reading_. Yup, so I've read Inheritance now (if you guys haven't read it, or any of the other ones in the inheritance cycle, you toatlly should- they're awesome. The movie isn't though. That's crap. "It's an egg!" _no shit, eragon! give yourself a clap on the back you _moron!) and then i read the first in the Morganville thignamoboby series, but i cant read the second cos my friend is still reading it -_- then i had to read this book of a friend called Small Blue Thing (the book, not the friend) which was really hard to get into and really quite pathetic. It did pick up more towards the end, but there were other books I woul rather have been reading- like the rangers apprentice 7-10 that all came out at pretty much the same time in england; ie; nowhere near my birthday and a couple of months before Christmas- the exact point where I've run out of money to buy all of the books I really want to get -_-

this was why i liked the skulduggery pleasant seriies- THEY CAME OUT IN APRIL! ISNT THAT AMAZING! but now they don't -_- now they come out in september like everyother unoriginal book in the world... eternal hate...

anywho, rant about when books come out aside, here's some more of the story =)=)=)

* * *

><p>Chapter 67~Emma<p>

I trudged home, feeling downhearted. My first day, and already I was feeling sick of it here. Paula, I decided, was the most annoying, horrible person I had ever met in the whole entirety of my mostly fortunate life.

After Geography, although it had been the last lesson of the day, and other people had a life outside of school, Paula and her pack of hyenas had stalked Sophie, Jan, Tina and I around the school. From our form room, where we'd sorted out our books, to the small after school club the school had, which no one seemed to actually go to apart from Tina, Jan and Sophie, to the library, where we'd gone after fifteen minutes of angrily trying to ignore the loud giggling all around us, then to the computer room (Jan needed to make a poster on the computer), to the form room once again, to drop off our remaining books, and then all the way to the school gate!

It was ridiculous! And how could any set of girls giggle for _that _long? It must've been over an hour! The lot of them deserve medals for the amount of loud, annoying, off-putting giggling they did. And maybe a slap for it, too.

God, it was soooooo annoying! I stomped onwards, having decided that catching a bus would only make me feel more annoyed, since everyone stared at me weirdly 'cos I wasn't American. The streets were still pretty busy, although it was about half five-ish now. My stomach grumbled hungrily so I walked a bit faster.

I arrived back in one piece, and dunked my school bags in my room before coming downstairs to help Mel- I mean- Yvonne and Chloe make dinner, since the men of the Hestford family seemed incapable of cooking. Lee/Tam sat and attempted to chop carrots while talking to us.

Apparently, he'd made an appearance at school, and spotted his target; Nathaniel Farrow. However, the guy was amazingly popular, and didn't seem to have noticed him at all. But that was what everyone had expected; that was why Mel and I were here; we were supposed to set up a meeting for the two of them, using Nathaniel's sisters, Sophie and Danielle, as an excuse of some sort. We hadn't got planned much on what we could do to set up a meeting good enough to get Chloe's permission, but then, I'd only been friends with Sophie a day, and Mel hadn't even met Danielle yet.

Mel was going to be the main person in this part of our 'operation', I was just a backup, and I couldn't get myself too involved- it would be a bit suspicious if three kids the exact same age as Sophie. Nathaniel and their sister Danielle moved here and all of them made friends with each other. I was going to be just a general friend to Sophie, Tina, Jan and maybe a few other people in my class. Mel and Lee would be trying to be best friends with Nathaniel and Danielle.

Nathaniel was the most important out of the three children, however. Their father- the one we wanted to 'bring to justice'- was going, as every other man in their family before him had, to hand down the family business to the eldest son. A daughter had never yet managed to inherit the family business. Which, Mel, Chloe and I totally agree, is sexist.

However, Lee argues that its traditional, and it's not exactly his or Nathaniel's fault, is it? So we're not allowed to complain in front of him. Frank doesn't seem entirely bothered by it all, but the guy doesn't seem entirely bothered by anything, really. Apart from hovering. Let me tell you, Frank Hestford is a man _obsessed_.

So if we wanted to get to Gareth Farrow, the big cheese of his little family empire, our best bet was Nathaniel. Gareth would obviously be teaching Nathaniel some stuff about their family business, but the question was whether or not Nathaniel, if he and Lee became good friends, would tell Lee about it.

So, basically, Lee was main in this mission, Mel was the side-kick and I was the backup. But that was all fine; it meant I had plenty of time to spend on finding Mum. I talked to Chloe and the others about it, suggesting that I could go and check out the house she was supposed to be staying in- Meryl had given me the address. Chloe had told me I could do whatever I wanted, but I couldn't approach her until A) I knew that she wasn't likely to tell the whole world that I was her daughter and B) I was sure that no one who would recognise me saw me talking to her. Both would most probably blow my cover completely, therefore it would screw the rest of us too.

So I was planning to go tomorrow, and have a look around. I hoped this wasn't all a complete waste of time, and that Meryl had sent me on a wild goose chase. It would suck to have gotten my hopes up so much, and then for them to be crushed. Because I don't think there was any other trace of my Mum that I could follow. If she wasn't here, I'd probably never see her again.

I realised how screwed our situation was; our Dad wasn't dead, which meant that there had to be some point where we found him eventually. And then I'm not sure he would be so keen on letting us stay here and become secret agents. And if I found Mum, too, then that would mean we were officially not orphans and had parents who wanted us back. Would CHERUB allow us to stay still? Or would we have to go back to our normal-ish lives? I knew the rules- no contact with people outside of CHERUB. So would we be allowed an exception? Would we still be able to meet up with all of our friends?

I had no clue what would happen to our lives, and I hated that. I guess no one likes not being in control of what happens to their own lives. There were so many questions and so many 'if's and 'maybe's right now. I didn't know what would happen if we found Mum and Dad. I just know that I have to try to get them back, because, well, they're my Mum and Dad, and, well, families, even ones as messed up as ours seemed to be, should stick together through everything. Otherwise, how can you call them your family?

Shaking my head to clear myself of my overly-deep thoughts, I turned back to peeling the potatoes- we were making Shepherd's Pie.

The others were talking animatedly about all the possible ways to hide or destroy the dreaded hover Frank was obsessed with. It was actually quite a funny conversation, and some of the ideas were so insane they were worthy of Anna.

Finally, the Shepherd's Pie was ready, so we dished it out and sat down to enjoy it. Frank wouldn't be back until ten, Chloe had told us, so we were able to talk more freely about CHERUB- mostly, though, it was just Lee complaining that the food there was so much better than this, and Chloe telling him that if he didn't like it, he could always quit the mission and go back to CHERUB. Lee shut up complaining so much after that. Of course it helped that Mel and I pointed out several times that he had only chopped the carrots so tomorrow he could cook everything, and see if it tasted any better.

After we'd finished, we nominated Lee to do the washing up and headed upstairs to our different rooms. Sophie had told me that the teachers never collected in their homework, or were bothered about it if you didn't do it, so there was no real point in doing it, unless it was for a project, or work you were supposed to be doing in lessons, in which case, I should, apparently do as much as possible so I could do nothing all lesson. I decided to take her advice and leave my homework. I couldn't be bothered to do any of it anyway- it was stuff I'd covered already at my old school anyway, back before CHERUB.

I rang Anna, for want of something better to do, mentally calculating what time it would be in England. To my annoyance, she didn't pick up; her mobile was off, apparently. I was at loss with what to do. There were no friends a couple of rooms away, no one to hang out with until ten every night, no one I really wanted to talk to here. I had no clue what to do right now. I had no clue what I'd done with my life before CHERUB, either, apart from study and do work. I was going to have to work on getting a life.

I brooded darkly about my now non-existent social life for a few minutes before picking up a few things and heading out. Screw it all, I thought, checking the time. Only six o'clock. There was a swimming pool about a mile away- seven or eight minutes if I jogged- which would still be open, and I decided that I may as well work on keeping my fitness at the same level, as well as improving my swimming.

"I'm heading out to the swimming pool," I yelled as I grabbed my keys off the counter and opened the door, "Be back in about an hour," I shut the door and headed off, counting the coins in my pocket and hoping I had enough money to get in.

Fifteen minutes later, I was in, changed and sitting at the side of the swimming pool, dangling my legs in the water. It was amazingly warm. Much warmer than that hideous lake we'd had to swim as part of the assault course in Basic Training. I slipped into the water and started swimming. I was still appalling at swimming, but I was definitely improving on what I'd used to be like. I no longer almost-drowned and I was getting the weird breathing techniques right. I wasn't doing that badly.

I did thirty laps- it took me an hour and a half, although I'm not sure whether that's good or bad, then got out and got changed. The pool closed at eight, anyway, so I wouldn't have had much longer anyway. I was slightly ashamed at how tired I was feeling. I guess swimming took more energy than I had realised, and I probably _had_ been getting lazy during my brief stay at campus.

I arrived home three quarters of an hour later, having decided to walk back slowly. I was not really in any hurry to get back home where I'd be bored to death within minutes. I decided that missions weren't really all they were set out to be.

* * *

><p>Chapter 68~Emma<p>

The next morning it was painful to get up. My alarm clock blared for a full five minutes, right in my ear while I hid under my duvet, until Mel got sick enough of hearing it that she turned it off and dragged me out of bed. I splashed my face with cold water to wake up properly, then dragged on a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I padded downstairs and helped myself to a cup of orange juice and some cereal, muttering a brief greeting to Chloe who was nursing a cup of coffee and looking half asleep still. Frank was hovering in the other room. Mel was miming strangling him. Lee had headed off already.

I didn't hang around at home for too long- I was running late after my sleep in, and I didn't want to be late on my second day at school! I shouldn't had been so worried, though; some moron sixth former- or 12th grader or whatever you American's call them- had set the fire alarm off by burning some toast in the toaster, so the whole school was in chaos when I arrived.

I made my way through the crowd and found Tina and Jan. Sophie was nowhere in sight.

"Hey guys," I waved as I elbowed my way some rather rude- and absolutely terrifying- year seven's, who yelled abuse after me.

Jan and Tina waved back and started towards me. Both of them were obviously trying not to laugh.

"We just saw Paula over there," Tina explained, seeing my confused face and waving randomly to the left.

"Her hair got singed in the fire! She's livid! Not to mention her eyebrows have been burnt off completely! And her makeup bag's still in the building that's on fire," Jan laughed.

I joined in. I'm not usually one to laugh at something like that, but Paula really did seem to deserve it. It was good to know that fate hadn't let her get away entirely unscathed. Sophie found us a few minutes later, looking slightly hassled, but cheered up immediately at the news about Paula.

"That's brilliant!" She shrieked with laughter, causing several people around us to give us weird looks, "That is pure genius! I need to hug the person who burnt that slice of toast! It's even better than the time that they hid Ms Taylon's keys! Brilliant!" She cackled.

I looked to Tina, "Who is Ms Taylon?" I asked.

"She's the Geography teacher, but she's _evil_ and really strict. Last year some of them went around the school 'redecorating' and hid her keys," Tina supplied, an amused glint in her eyes.

"Did they have a death wish or something?" I asked, astounded.

"Nope, no one ever found out who it was," Jan told me.

"When we all get to 12th grade, we've gotta do something like that," Sophie suppressed her grin, "Just thinking about the pranks we could play on all of the teachers makes me laugh,"

"We'd swap all of Mr Harvey's cigarettes with rolled up pieces of paper, and nick off with his lighter, steal Ms Taylon's rule book, pour out all of Mrs Grenda's whisky and replace it with water, use Mr Brandon's beer to set fire to the art department and tape all the teachers' car keys to the undersides of random cars," Tina listed.

Before I could laugh at the sheer hilarity of it, even though I didn't really know any of the teachers, a stern looking teacher rounded on Tina.

"What did you just say, Miss Evans?" He demanded, looking furiously.

Tina played the small, young and frightened child act, "I'm s-sorry M-Mr Brandon, i-it's what I heard Paula say she was g-going to do,"

Mr Brandon didn't say anything further, just stormed off, probably trying to find Paula. Tina was cracking up laughing before he'd even gotten out of earshot, "I hope he gets Paula for that! And maybe he'll remember it when we play all the pranks on them during our final year, and blame it all on her!"

"That would be beyond awesome. It would probably be the best day of my life," Jan agreed.

Sophie nodded enthusiastically, "Maybe we should deliberately frame her or something," She pondered, some plan already forming in her head.

I suddenly felt a bit as if I was intruding in the conversation- I wasn't going to be here more than a few months, let alone until sixth form! Even Carinthia wasn't supposed to be staying that long! I kept quiet and the others didn't notice. Or at least, if they did, they decided not to mention it, to save me from feeling more awkward. The subject changed quickly, though whether or not it was deliberate I couldn't tell.

We ended up talking about whether or not we'd get out of doing ICT, Geography and History since the whole building was probably smoke-damaged. We were still standing around in the school yard talking, almost an hour later, when, finally, the head teacher turned up and apologised for the wait, told us that the fire had finally been put out, that only one floor had been damaged by the actual fire. However, he went on, the whole building stank of smoke, so there would be no lessons today as they were still sorting it all out, and, unless we had stuff inside that building, we should go home. None of us needed any further invitation- we all but ran home.

Since I had a whole day to myself, and Sophie, Jan and Tina had declined on the idea of heading out to do some shopping on the basis that their parents would kill them, I decided that now would be as good a time as any other to go check out my Mum's supposed house. I set off slowly, unsure I wanted to really find out whether my Mum was there or not.

What if she was there, but didn't want to see me? Or if she was drunk off her face still? What if she just wasn't there at all? My doubts assaulted me the whole of my fifteen minute walk, and I was getting quite close to having a complete meltdown before I found the address I'd been looking for.

It was a detached bungalow, with a small, overgrown front garden and vines crawling all over the walls. It was quite creepy, to be perfectly honest. I wasn't really sure I wanted to go anywhere near it. Why would Mum want to go live there? I asked myself. I was coming up with the one clear answer almost as soon as I had asked; it was probably cheaper than most other houses, and Mum hadn't exactly been rich, so it was unlikely she would be able to afford more than that.

I hid myself- feeling rather stupid and self-conscious- behind a bush and sat down to wait. No one came out of the house or went into the it, in the hour and a half I was there. The trip had been entirely pointless, I thought. I chided myself immediately; what had I expected? It was half ten! My Mum had either got herself a job and was out right now, or had gotten a drink and had a hangover. And had I really expected to see her the first time I went loiking for her?

I still felt upset though; it seemed like such a waste of the day, and I felt like I had come so close to finding her. I didn't know at the time that Mum had left the house less than an hour earlier, but I was about to find that out...

* * *

><p>Chapter 69~Emma<p>

I was plodding slowly home, feeling deflated and depressed, wondering tiredly what I would actually be able to do for the rest of the day, when I hit the midmorning rush-about-crazily traffic of the busy streets. There were people everywhere, car horns tooting loudly, people yelling and so on. I got barged into several times, once elbowed hard enough in the shoulder that I was sure it would leave a mark, and several more times I got pushed forward, narrowly missing falling off the pavement in front of a car.

It was impossible to look down in the crowd, as I felt like doing in my mostly miserable state, since if I did I wouldn't be able to see a thing of who was gonna run into me next. I had to look everywhere at once not to get squished completely. So I saw her straight away.

My jaw dropped open and I came to a very sudden halt in the middle of a massive crowd, everyone else surging forward to cross the road while the green man was still flashing. It was my Mum. And I realised I had no clue what I was supposed to do. I had actually seen her! I'd never expected to get that far, never planned the conversation we were going to have, I had nothing! I was completely unprepared!

I was knocked about in the crowd until, finally, I snapped back into action, and started diving forwards, yelling at people to move and elbowing people like crazy to get through the crowd. I looked frantically for the spot where I'd last seen my Mum, but she'd disappeared.

I freed myself from the crowd of people and turned slowly around in a circle, standing on my tip-toes to try and see further. To try and catch another glimpse of my Mum. Because I'd seen her. She might've changed an awful lot recently, but I still recognised her. However, she'd gone completely now. She'd disappeared out of sight in the mass of people all around me, and now I'd lost my chance to talk to her.

I cursed quietly to myself, feeling my frustration build up. We'd been _this_ close to talking to each other. If only I'd managed to get out of the crowd quicker. If only I hadn't frozen when I'd seen her. If only she'd seen me!

But I knew, although I hated it, that I hadn't really wanted to see her. Not right now. I was completely unprepared. I didn't know what I would've told her, or how I would've reacted to anything she had said. It was like meeting a friend you've known since nursery, but haven't spoken to in years, and realising you no longer have anything in common. Since when had finding Mum become so... hard? So difficult?

I gritted my teeth and got moving again, my disappointment and anger at myself and my Mum getting more and more as I moved further away from the place where we could've seen each other again for the first time in months.

* * *

><p>Chapter 70<p>

Lola cursed herself from where she stood, hidden by a wall of passer-bys. She could see Emma as she looked around the street desperately, then her disappointment when she saw no sign of Lola. How could Lola have run from her own child?

She'd panicked. She hadn't expected to have seen Emma quite so soon. She hadn't expected them to meet quite like this, like strangers bumping into each other in the street, or long lost friends meeting up again for a reunion. This was not how she'd planned it.

But she'd definitely not planned to run from her own daughter. To _hide_ from her own daughter! She felt a wave of self-pity wash over her, then a wave of anger and annoyance. How could she have been so ridiculous? Why hadn't she... why couldn't she have done something braver than run away like a coward?

Self-disgust and self-pity raged inside her as she turned away from her daughter and started walking to the Bridge Office. How could she even do that? How could she walk away from her own child, who was looking so desperately for her?

Lola had never felt more ashamed of herself in her life. More ashamed, and more angry.


	22. The Art of Teaching Really Badly

sorry again for not posting sooner! But I will write non-stop for a whole day (well... maybe minus a few hours for some horrible textiles hw I have to do- even though I am only supposed to spend half an hour on that... *hate textiles*- then minus a few more for sleeping and eating... but other than that I'll write LOADS AND LOADS!) =)

* * *

><p>Chapter 71~Anna<p>

So, another day, another several heart attacks. My first big shock; a phone call. At half six. In the _freaking_ morning! My second big shock; the phone call was from Meryl. Near heart attacks and what-the-hell-have-I-done-wrong-recently freak outs aside, we move onto my third big shock. Meryl Spencer, evil, strict as hell, rule enforcer, supreme punishment giver and insane woman, was giving me back my laptop. _Today_.

I could've sworn. Except if I did, I would probably have gotten my laptop confiscated again. I settled with moving the phone away and swearing. I don't _think _Meryl heard, but if I suddenly disappear, you know who to blame.

Blame Larry Summers.

Yup, you heard me. Shock o' the day numero four. I met a guy. Called _Larry_. Arron is _never_ gonna let me live this down! And I can't even lie about it and claim the others are making all that bullshit up. Because he's doing basic training with me. So anyway, if I do go missing under mysterious circumstances and it is not one of my diabolical master plans to take over the world with my munchkin army and defeat all my nemesisssssss, then you can blame Larry.

If not Larry, then blame Sybil- that hamster is out to get me, I _swear_! It peed on me fourteen whole times in the fifteen minutes I went to see Flo and Gabby. Twelve of those times, I wasn't even _holding_ the goddamned hamster! How is that even possible? I will have to get my vengeance on that... rodent...

Maybe I'll give him to Sandi as a 'special' present. They'd suit each other, I'm sure. Well... maybe not... Sybil is one demented hamster, but comparing Sandi with Evil Incarnate is an understatement. That girl is one mean bitch. One thick bitch too, though- she was in my Portuguese catch-up class. Oh, that was shock five of the day.

Shock six; Sandi is also doing Basic Training with me. I am screwed eternally. Imagine- I might _actually_ have to _work_ with her! Maybe Meryl traded punishments without telling me; I get my laptop back in return for having to spend a hundred days with... _her._ However, while I don't have direct confirmation of such pairing, I will remain hopeful. If I end up with her, I'm quitting. Screw becoming an agent; I'll wait as long as it takes to not go anywhere near her.

I pity the person she ends up with. Poor sap. They'll end up traumatised from the 100 days they are forced to be paired together. Unless they deliberately drop out. Or Sandi can't take Basic Training and quits CHERUB altogether. That would be exceedingly amazing.

Ok, so, the ultimate shock; _Daniel Whitness_ has asked me out officially. I never actually thought they guy would get round to it. So it's official, and the whole of campus knows it. Although, I'm not entirely sure why the whole of campus would give a shit about me and Dan going out. Unless they were stalking us. Which would be creepy... And Elizabeth actually admitted that she'd held a vote with some of her... 'contacts' – meaning girls who are more into makeup and fashion and dramatic tension than we are- and Dan and I were the couple that won fourth in the seriously-need-to-get-on-with-it-and-go-out competition. I told Elizabeth exactly what I thought about that; it was the biggest piece of bullshit I've ever heard in my life. She'd shrugged and told me it was only because we'd come fourth not first. Which is not true! Well... not entirely. But I mean, seriously, you've gotta agree with me? Is that or is it the biggest pile of crap ever? Apart from Larry being used as an actual name. I don't care if I know a guy called Larry now.

But I guess Elizabeth has a point- I mean, not much has _actually_ happened, lately- I've been teaching. For the whole of one day. Dan's been sorting out this mission thing- do missions seriously take this long to prepare for? Apparently, they're missing some important information that they need to get- and I've also been helping out Karlie. Dan has other friends and a social life too (I know, it shocked me when I found out, too).

Speaking of Karlie and her laptop, I've decided I should probably start getting worried about the prison break in. Karlie said there had been an email earlier about it, telling everyone that they needed to arrive in Manchester in two days time for a meeting, although the details were coded. I had a rough idea of where they were going, though, since I _had_ lived in Manchester for the first fourteen years of my life. I mean, seriously, give me _some_ credit! However, starting to get worried is hard when you know it's pointless. I can't tell Mac, or Meryl, because they'd nick off with Karlie's laptop.

It was Karlie that had come up with a compromise for our problem. We couldn't tell anyone, exactly, but we could get into contact with someone there and get them to take a look around. Then we hit a wall. Who could we ask? I wasn't exactly what you would have called '_popular_' at my old school. And Karlie may have some contacts from her life on the run, but she'd been living in London for less than a year, and had been in America her whole life before that.

So I'd been left with option C. The one I dreaded most. Calling _Arron_. Not only would I have to beg for his help- he'd surely be missing most of his school day for me- but I'd also have to admit to him about... _Larry_.

I'd called him. He'd laughed in my face about Larry Summers. Then told me no way in hell for the snooping around after Dasakota thing.

"C'mon, Arron. One day," I tutted, "You're school attendance is higher than any other freak within ten thousand miles, you freak, be happy with that and skip for _half a freaking day_!"

"No!" Arron objected, "I've already missed that school day when Dad faked his death, and then when we were... kidnapped. I'm not missing any more school. Not for you, not for Emma, not for Dad, not for Gabby and definitely not for that goddamned hamster of hers!"

I think you can tell I'd already tried to pull the guilt card. And yes, I had been desperate enough to suggest he do it for Sybil.

"Ok then, what about, if you do it, I'll kill Sybil," I suggested, "The hamster peed on me fourteen times in fifteen minutes, Arron! It has something wrong with it!"

Arron laughed in my face again at that, "As tempting as that is, I'd prefer not to wind up with you dead because I'd agreed to your insane proposal. And I don't particularly want Gabby to become a murderer,"

"Hey! Who says Gabby _could_ kill me?" I demanded, insulted, "She's... well, actually, she's one of those terrifying little kids that scare the shit out of me, but still!"

"Wow, Anna," Arron tutted teasingly, "That's a new low for you,"

"Yes, yes," I growled impatiently, "Do you mind agreeing to go stalk people so I can get off the phone and get on with my life?"

"I'm not going to waste a whole school day stalking some-!"

I cut off Arron's outburst with a; "Thanks, Arron I owe you one! Bye!"

I called off before he could retaliate or contradict me. Now the only way for him to refuse would be to email me. Or text me. Or just ring me back. Damn...

Fortunately, I didn't get a text, call or email from Arron so I counted myself lucky and moved on before the bad luck returned. After Karlie headed out at eleven to 'extra fitness' training, I slept for another hour and reluctantly pulled myself out of bed, getting dressed properly and heading out to collect my laptop.

And yes, I _had_ just deliberately waited over five hours after Meryl called me to get my laptop back. I was proving a point. The point being that half six is a stupid time to ring anyone up, so she should've rang at half eleven, so she wouldn't have had to wait to give me it back.

Luck was still on my side, too, as my lessons didn't start until two. But then, I wouldn't get out of teaching until seven. Damn Meryl and Mac and their obsession for punishment. All I'd done was set the fire alarm off, for crying out loud!

So, anyways, I collected my laptop off Meryl and headed straight back up to my room, feeling suspicious. I'd had more time to think it through now. Who takes a laptop off a kid to punish them, and then gives it back barely two days or so after? Especially when the person doing the punishing was _Meryl Spencer_. I was gonna have to thoroughly check my laptop. Damn. It seemed like such a waste of time! I could've been getting back to hacking into MI6 so much sooner.

Although I was frustrated as hell, I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything on my laptop if anyone had done something to it. I'd have to check it all out. It wouldn't take _that_ long, I reasoned. A day and a half maybe?

Pouting I set to work, my fingers flying over the keys in my eagerness to get the whole thing over and done with. I brought up the main programmes and started up a scan, getting my computer to notify me to any recent activity on my laptop. I wasn't expecting anything, really. Anyone who had been on my laptop and gotten past my extra security- which is, despite what you may think, quite easy to do, if you knew how. The thing is; not that many people _do_ know how- would've known perfectly well how to cover their tracks. A scan like the one I was performing wouldn't be likely to pick anything up at all. But it's always best to be thorough, and I could save myself a lot of time if it _did_ happen to pick anything up. Which I would sincerely doubt.

Sure enough, nothing came up, so I moved onto more subtle methods; scanning, very closely, all of the programmes on my computer. Which meant spending the next twenty four hours going through about three hundred and ninety two different things. Groaning, I got started. Main stuff first, work your way out into the less likely options, I thought to myself. So I started with the shit that had always been on our laptop.

Wordpad, Paint, Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, OneNote, Excel, Windows live shit, Windows shit, PowerDVD9 shit, the crappy wildlife videos you get on your computer that you don't want but can't be bothered to delete, crappy wildlife photos that you don't want but can't be bothered to delete either, the – oh God, crap- freaking games programmes! The game with the find the chicken- it's right in front of you, moron! Ahhhh, crap. I hated that game... Should've bloody uninstalled it while I'd had the bloody chance!

I left that 'til last, going through all of the other shit first, trying to ignore my overly-grumpy stomach. When I finally reached the games section, I bailed. Screw it, I thought, I'm getting lunch. I can't face this depressing stuff without a full stomach.

* * *

><p>Chapter 72<p>

Francis glared at the computer in frustration, willing it to hurry up, so he could get out of here before someone spotted him. Being in the Spider's office was not a good place to be. The Spider knew everyone, and everyone knew the Spider, so if anyone saw Francis in here, it would be a matter of minutes before the Spider found out.

And Francis did _not_ want _anyone_ to find out he'd been here, otherwise his cover would be blown completely. Most probably by both sides at once. Finally, the computer loaded and his fingers started flying over the keys in his hurry to get it over with. He was using the Spider's computer so it wouldn't trace back to him. Everyone would know that the Spider didn't have the brains to do the stuff Francis was doing right now, so the Spider wouldn't get blamed, anyway. Not that Francis would've minded. But he needed to get on with it. The more time spent in here, the more likely he was to be discovered.

He had to set the traps last minute, otherwise someone would discover them, but if he waited too long, he would miss his chance entirely. And everything he had been working up to in these past months had been towards the moment that was coming. Everything needed to be perfect, because if a single thing went wrong, it would be the end to it all.

He completed his work quickly and was about to switch off the computer and scarper out of the Spider's office, when he spotted a couple of files on the computer. Files he recognised, and he knew shouldn't be on the computer. But files, he realised, he could use to his advantage. He copied them, and with a bit of fancy-computery stuff, he accomplished what he'd hoped.

He then set about hiding his tracks as best he could. He couldn't hide them too well- he was relying on a certain someone recognising them, and even then, he couldn't let them recognise his work until they'd already triggered the alarms- but no one else should know that he had been fiddling with the defences and firewalls surrounding the MI6 database.

Because otherwise, they would think that he had _known_ that MI6 was about to be hacked into. And a lowly agent like Francis shouldn't know that, right? But he did. In fact, he had worked and manipulated and planned everything to this exact path. He had made sure there were no other logical possibilities to consider.

However, if everything didn't go according to plan, he thought once again, he would be on the run for the rest of his life. Either way, he'd known from the moment this had all started, that there was no going back.

He had to get this right.

* * *

><p>Chapter 73~Anna<p>

After eating, I met up with Dan, Elizabeth, Tom and Andrew to get some of a social life. I knew I should probably get back to my laptop- I _needed_ to get on with hacking into MI6! I was starting to doubt it would ever happen- but right now, I realised, I just wanted to hang out with friends. So that was what I did. I needed some cheering up, anyway, since I was going to have to face some five hours of teaching this afternoon, as well as endless hours scanning the games on my laptop for some sort of alteration in anything.

The five of us spent an hour or so messing around and talking, just walking around campus, really. We teased Andrew continuously about him and Emma (since they were the now the only two not together now. Well, not including Liam, who was mysteriously absent at this point...) and, unfortunately for the poor soul, none of us were too bothered about what he called us. The vengeance threat didn't bother me at all, either.

Decidedly bored after half an hour, I decided to ring up Emma, and tease her mercilessly too. She answered on the fifth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hiya, Emma, it's Anna. Obviously. Oooh, and Andrew's here," I sang happily, grinning at Andrew.

Andrew scowled.

"Anna, if you rang to annoy me, please shove off and let me talk to Andrew," Emma sighed.

"Go ahead and talk right now- it's on speaker," I told her, "The rest of us won't try to listen _too_ hard,"

"Shut up, Anna," My sister growled tetchily.

"Ah, sisterly love," Dan pitched in mockingly.

"Damn right!" I agreed, "Love you too Emma,"

"Mm hmm," My sister muttered sceptically, "You guys mind keeping it down for a few minutes, these walls aren't exactly soundproof and I don't want people thinking I'm insane. I'll just go outside,"

There was a lot of background noise and the sound of people talking, but eventually, we heard a door shut and Emma started talking to us again, "I'm outside now, hiding from people so I don't look like I'm talking to myself. Are you happy now Anna?"

"Yes, supremely," I told her, "So, how's life?"

"Boring. There is _nothing_ fun to do here. Chloe's got Mel and Lee playing scrabble, and Frank has started a new cleaning regime on the windows,"

Emma had told me about Frank the obsessed the other day.

"That sucks. Have you not made any friends or something? And shouldn't you be at school?" I demanded.

"I should be, but someone set fire to the sixth form block this morning so we were all sent home. Now I'm stuck here with _nothing_ to do, and my friends aren't allowed to go anywhere near some decent clothes, books or otherwise shops by themselves for some obscene reason. Probably because their parents have budgets. Tina rang me earlier, though; we're gonna go to the cinema tonight and watch a film,"

"Sounds good," I nodded.

Elizabeth interrupted me, "Do you know what I was dared to do the night we left, Emma? I was dared to go without makeup for three whole days! Three days! I nearly died!"

We laughed at her, "And you dared Karlie to wear makeup for a week or something. She really hates you know, you know," I told Elizabeth.

"I don't care! Three days!" Elizabeth moaned.

"You can wear makeup _now_ Elizabeth," Tom reminded her, "So you're fine. But you don't even need makeup,"

"I could not _live_ without makeup!" Elizabeth cried dramatically.

I was surprised Tom hadn't just agreed with her in the first place- that usually seemed to be what he did, but I caught the exasperated look he shot at Andrew and Dan, and guessed Elizabeth had probably been going on and on about it for the past few days.

Emma laughed, "Elizabeth, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have worn makeup for Basic Training, yet you're still alive now,"

"That's beside the point! Three days!" Elizabeth whined.

"Dude, stop acting like a kid and get over it. No makeup, not a big deal. Life goes on," I rolled my eyes at her, unable to feel even slightly sympathetic.

"She's got a point- you're makeup shit is annoying the hell out of everyone, Elizabeth," Dan agreed, "Even Andrew of all people! And he _likes_ makeup!"

"I do not!" Andrew shouted, causing Dan and I to crack up like the immature freaks we are.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you guys, real mature," Andrew glared at us.

"We're not supposed to be the mature ones, though, are we?" I pointed out.

"You are when you're teaching little kids, which, by the way, you should be doing in less than five minutes," Andrew retorted.

I glanced at the clock on my phone. 1:55pm.

"Aw shit! Dan I'm entrusting that phone to you. Waste my credit, trash it or lose it and you will burn in hell, got it?" I asked.

Dan mock saluted, grinning, "Enjoy lessons," He told me.

I grinned, "Thanks Dan, see you guys later," I waved and raced off.

I arrived with a minute to go, outside the ICT room. I stopped momentarily for breath before barging into the room.

Twelve red-shirts, two grey shirts and well, who would've guessed it! _Sandi_ were sitting waiting for me, looking impatient. Why the hell was Sandi even in this freaking group? Wasn't she supposed to be a top ICT person, in the same class as me?

"Yeah, yeah, I'm late or whatever, sorry, doesn't mean you have to look so cheesed off. Actually, I'm not even late," I babbled, waving about a hand uncaringly.

"So... what the hell was I teaching you guys yesterday?" I asked.

"How to edit a school website and put loads of swear words in the text," Someone supplied.

"But we were actually supposed to be learning how to delete any evidence that we were on a computer, or the internet," Someone else added, sounding annoyed.

Damn... I should've bought along my laptop, I thought to myself.

"Yeah, but that stuff's shit easy. The only difficult part to it is trying to be patient while it all freaking loads," I told them all.

"But we still need to learn how to do it!" An objection was yelled from the back.

"Fine you boring old sods," I muttered.

I then proceeded to chose the most complicated way to delete evidence of any activity on the computer, and used as many complicated technical words as possible. Needless to say, by the end of my explanation, everyone was completely bamboozled.

"So, would you like me to go over it again, or do you want to do something slightly more fun?" I asked, yawning, "I could show you how to make a game, but the tutorial things are so boring and the person in it waffles on fore_ver_,"

No seemed to want to agree or disagree with me.

"Well, then, if none of you feel like going over it again..." I trailed off, waiting hopefully for someone to say they did.

"_I_ want you to go over it again! I didn't understand a thing of it! You're a rubbish teacher!" Sandi sniffed. Bingo! Now I could bitch on and insult her!

"No, dearest, you're a rubbish learner. The fact is, this is the single most pointless thing you could learn. I bet none of you have been taught how to hack into something without triggering an alarm to alert someone that you've done so. I bet none of you know how to see if someone is watching an online conversation with your friend. I bet you weren't taught how to type quickly so that you could write a code that will allow you to hack into a top secret government agency within a minute. I bet none of you could do that in a year. I bet none of you could set up defences which stop your computer or laptop from being hacked into, which upgrades your fire walls to a protection level higher than the government. I bet that none of you can do a single thing of that," I listed, feeling evil.

I let them gawp at me in amazement for a few seconds, before continuing briskly in an upbeat tone, "Of course, I can't do half of that, either, and some of the things are shit easy to do- like the higher protection than the government thing, because, seriously, their shit is... shit, to put it simply. However, learning this is pointless, if you don't know what evidence you're going to be deleting from the computer. It could be something you've done on the internet, or something you've edited on a file. You might want to just make sure they can't see you've been on a certain website, or you might want to make sure they didn't know you were on the computer at all. All of these factor into what method you choose, so until you know that, there's no real point learning this," I shrugged.

"So, moving on from that, I'm gonna teach you how to type properly. To put it simply, you use both hands and press the keys that you need to make the word in the right order. After that, you simply need to practice. So, start by typing the words to Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, and if you finish that before the lesson is over, you can type up all the songs from High School Musical one, two and three. I hope you enjoy yourself," I told them, grinning evilly.

I was seriously hoping all this bad feedback would get to Meryl.


	23. The Art Of Being Awesome Part 1

=) Christmas is coming soon! I can't wait =) I've got my awesome advent calender (which _no one _is too old for!) And I've got a little countdown thing of the days until school's over, so go me! Now all I need to do is help sort out the christmas tree and buy presents for everyone. My friends are getting cake or something easy to cook (shh! Don't tell them anything!) You guys can all have a virtual hug. If you're not a huggy person, have a virtual... high-five?

* * *

><p>Chapter 74~Anna<p>

Teaching, I decided, may not be all that it was cracked up to be, but it was still greatly amusing seeing the look on Sandi's face when I made her type out all of those lyrics. It may have been stupid and immature to do, but it was shit funny.

I was now currently teaching little red shirts how to say fuck in French. I'd used Google translate, however, so it might not actually have been correct...

"Ok, so you write it M-E-R-D-E, ok," I told them, suppressing a laugh as they wrote it down, and then you pronounce it merrrrd," I thought, anyway...

I double checked the clock impatiently, and was delighted to see I only had five minutes left until seven.

"Right, I want you guys to learn as much of this as you can for next lesson," I told the fifteen excitable kids, "And remember, don't use this language unless someone is really pissing you off," I warned, like the responsible teenager I am.

A few minutes later, a bell rang signalling that lessons were officially over, and I was free for the rest of the evening. I immediately went to get some food, feeling grumpy from lack of anything nutritious.

Luckily, I managed to grab some pasta, a banana and an apple- the only decent food left at that precise moment in time- and I dug in hungrily and hurriedly. I'd lost out almost a whole day from messing around with the others and teaching, though I needed the first and the second I couldn't really get out of. Either way, I needed to really crack on. I got the feeling I was losing too much time; that every second I wasted meant I was an hour further from finding my Dad again. And, well, I really do need to tell him off for not telling us all he was a secret agent.

I mean, _seriously_? We had to go to school like good little children while he ran around with guns (and scissors- they're highly dangerous too!) and brought evil ach-nemesissssss to justice? How unfair was that? And fuck off with the life isn't fair shit. I've had that _way_ too many times, thank you.

I finished quickly, cleared my plate away and headed up the stairs impatiently, wanting to get on with this whole infuriatingly boring scanning shit. I collapsed tiredly onto my bed and booted up my laptop, cursing its infuriating slowness. After a few tedious minutes, I was restarting the scan, and had- gulp- begun looking for suspicious stuff in my preloaded-onto-computer-games file. I decided that I may as well do a scan for the past year, since I probably wasn't going to get much from this, and it wouldn't take that much longer anyway. I wanted to see how many of the 60-minutes-of-this-game-free games I had left unused.

I can tell you right now, the single most suspicious thing I had expected was that Gabby had occasionally been sneaking onto the laptop and using up the 60 minutes of free play you get on them. But, whether it was fortunate or not, what I found was considerably more worrying.

I had scanned through almost all of the games on the computer, and was in the middle of a particularly dull and especially pointless game- Melody Mills- when I finally caught a sign of something suspicious. I typed in a few words and gawped, gobsmacked, at my screen as the information was added to, and added to and added to.

Every _month_ this game had been getting suspicious looking updates, with _loads_ of files. The monthly updates hadn't- even though they were _supposed_ to- notified me, and they hadn't even gone through the usual 'sign-the-terms-and-conditions-to-get-the-latest-update-of-Melody-piece-of-shit-Mills' and 'Melody-Mills-requests-an-update-or-whatever-click-allow-or-cancel' pop ups, either, which meant someone had deliberately fiddled with the settings on it. I scanned further back and saw, to my amazement, that the laptop had been getting the monthly updates ever since Emma and I had bought it! If that wasn't the biggest piece of suspicious shit I'd ever seen, then Sybil isn't actually demented!

Deciding (for the moment only) to put aside my scan for traces of Dark Magic- oops, I mean _suspicious... suspiciousness_- I crossed everything off and opened the game. It popped up with its oh-so-annoyingly-familiar-in-a-fuck-I-hate-this-bloody-song-way joyful theme tune and I stared in confusion at the completely normal looking menu screen. Deciding that I may as well try playing on it again, I clicked the 'Story Mode' button and winced as the tune blasted even louder from the speakers. God I hated that tune.

There were five sections of tune and the aim of the game was to put them all in the right order to make a random melody. You got three guesses to start off with, and mostly, it was impossible, since there was also a time limit.

I proceeded for the next two hours to get increasingly angry as I had to try more and more times to complete each level. By the time I had replayed the nineteenth level twenty-six times, I realised that I was getting really pissed off and competitive at the world's single most crappiest game ever and that I should probably stop before I strangled the computer. I minimised the screen and took a breath, not quite ready to cross the game off when I'd spent so much effort on it.

After a few minutes, though, just as I decided I'd calmed down enough to continue without stabbing my laptop, I heard a faint, reject-ish sounding noise. I maximised the browser and felt like crying- I had run out of time, and now I'd have to do the whole thing again!

But I was one hell of a determined bitch, so what did I do? The exact opposite of any other sane person on the planet. I clicked play again.

I had gotten to level thirty three by the time I glanced at the clock again, bleary eyed- remembering to pause the game this time. It took some time for my eyes to readjust to the considerably less bright room, and it was a few more minutes even then, before I could read the time. Then I groaned sulkily. Eleven o'clock. I tumbled out of bed, deciding that I might as well take a break- I _was_ going to finish this game, goddamn it! –and get changed into my pyjamas.

Now clad in my lovely pink (ok, ok, I'm joking- I don't own anything pink and even if I did, I would never voluntarily wear it) pyjamas, I slid back into bed and settled down for the second part of my rematch with Melody Mills.

The game went on for seemingly ever; still playing it's annoying as hell tune quietly in the background. I went slowly from level to level, completing one of them for every ten to twenty tries.

I finished level forty nine, and to my relief- or horror, really- the quietly annoying background music got louder- yup, that bit was the horror- and a little notice popped up and a cheerful voice cried; "Final Level!" And that was the relief thing. Thank bloody fucking God.

I leaned forward in anticipation and started fiddling with the ten sections of tune I had to put in order- the number of sections had increased every ten levels. I was delighted when it only took me four tries to get my first segment in the right place, and my mood improved further when there were seven of the ten segments in place in under another twenty tries! This whole feeling pleased with myself was almost infectious- the game seemed to be making it easier for me, now that I wasn't cursing its existence anymore.

Finally, I got the satisfaction of putting into place the final segment of melody. I grinned and waited for the game to move on/tell me I'd completed it/play that horrible theme tune music even louder. Nothing happened. Frowning and feeling a good lot cheated out of my grand finish, I narrowed my eyes at the laptop screen. And saw the problem.

The crappy game was saying that the last piece was in the wrong place! I glared at it. Die you crappy game! How _could_ I have put that piece on the wrong place if all the other pieces were in the right place? That was stupid! And moronically moronic!

Glowering, I stabbed the 'back to menu' button thingie, and death-glared it. The cheery music was still playing, and still annoying. Suddenly, I was thinking again- not that I wasn't before; I had just been in a state of I-lost-a-game-that-I-should've-won depression.

What sort of game on _my_ laptop, would have such a shitty ending? Why hadn't the game got a proper ending? And since it was for some reason getting regular updates, why the hell hadn't they sorted that piece of shit out?

Jolting upright, I mentally cursed myself for my incredible stupidity. The game, as realistic as it was, was a fake. I had been looking, all along, for something hidden on loads of laptops and computers, something that would have been on all of them originally. This game had been on my laptop since I'd gotten it. And you wouldn't find it unless you knew where to look. Because even _I_ wouldn't look for a way to access MI6 using a _game_.

I locked my laptop, leaped from my bed and ran for the door, desperate to check out my theory. Forgetting I would be running around campus after curfew, in my pyjamas. Forgetting it was, of course, nearly midnight by now. And, more importantly, forgetting that I needed to scan my laptop for anything that had been altered on it.

Which was a pretty fucking good thing for Mac, Meryl, Peter and Dan. 'Cos otherwise they would've been bloody screwed.

But I didn't know about that at the time of course- I only learnt about that later.

* * *

><p>Chapter 75~Anna<p>

I rushed downstairs, taking the stairs three at a time, abandoning caution in my eagerness to get this experiment started. I couldn't believe it! After all of this time swearing that I'd hack into MI6 and find out how to find my Dad, I finally had a chance to do it! I could find my Dad! Excitement bubbled in my chest as I reached the ground floor. I realised- too late- I wasn't wearing any shoes or socks, but I no longer cared. I was _finally_ doing something! I wasn't going to sit on my arse anymore, not while my Dad was missing, not now that there was a possibility of finding him.

I pulled open the main doors, thankful that it was deemed a health and security risk to lock the doors, and sprinted down the gravel path, heading towards the educational block, and towards the ICT room.

Puffing and panting, I reached the educational block, my feet feeling swollen and sore already, and came to my first obstacle. It might've been a health and safety hazard to lock the main doors to a building full of sleeping kids, but an empty building with lots of expensive technical equipment? Not a chance that it would be open.

Sighing, I jogged around the building quickly, hoping for some sort of open window. No joy. I went back to the main door, and sighed once more. I really _had_ wanted to avoid breaking stuff. I yanked at the panel which controlled the electric door until it opened up, giving me a joyous view of electrical wires. I thought carefully back to the stuff my Dad had taught me, back when I'd been young enough to learn all that kind of stuff and not question what he was teaching me. Now that I thought about it, quite a lot of shit I knew seemed due, largely, to my Dad.

It made me wonder if he was trying to prepare me for this, like he knew it would happen. But _that_ would be ridiculously pathetic, and anyway, I don't think my Dad –or anyone else, really- would've chosen to drive a car they knew was going to crash.

A few minutes of fiddling with wires later, and the electric doors slid open for me. I was relieved it had actually worked- it had been ages since I'd done anything like this. Still, I didn't want to waste any more time, since I was pretty sure there were security cameras on campus, and, even if there weren't, there was definitely a security team. And you could bet they wouldn't be exactly happy to find me breaking in to use a computer I could've used only a couple of hours earlier.

The ICT room was, to my delight, unlocked, so I didn't have to trash even more of campus. I logged in using Andrew's user. I knew it would get him into trouble, probably, but, well... I'd apologise later. And if I wasn't too busy, I'd go own up to it at some point. That was, if the possible and incredibly probable security cameras didn't prove my guilt first.

As I waited for the computer to load, I moved down the row, using Andrew's user once again, and a bit of fancy typing that enabled him to be logged into more than one computer, I got the computers to load. You had to check more than one computer, I reasoned, otherwise the results might not be accurate. Which would suck.

They all logged in (eventually!) and I immediately clicked My Games on them all. I scanned them triple-thoroughly. Twice over. And then a third time, just to check. Nothing. No Melody Mills. Zip, Zilch, Nada.

So I'd jumped to conclusions. Melody Mills had been a crappy game that didn't work. Or maybe... I thought, hoping for any excuse, maybe it's a different thing on computers. Maybe it's only Melody Mills on laptops. I logged the computers off and made a hasty exit once more, my hope feeling almost, but not completely renewed. I'd check Karlie's first, since I didn't want to wake Dan up in the middle of the night. Karlie hadn't shown me any restraint, so I wasn't gonna feel guilty waking her up at midnight. Maybe she was still up, anyway. She wasn't, to my amusement, so I got to enjoy prodding her awake and telling her I needed to steal her laptop temporarily.

"Fuck off," She mumbled sleepily into her pillow, "I will stab you if you ever wake me up this early again, I swear it,"

"That's ok then, as long as you don't actually kill me," I told her cheerfully, before snatching her laptop off the floor and switching it on, "You know, I don't think I can be bothered to take this back up to my room. I'll only be a minute anyway," I told her, "And it's fun keeping you awake. Consider it payback,"

"I hate you," Was Karlie's reply.

I waited impatiently for the laptop to bumble its way through the booting up process, desperate to find out whether I was right about my theory. If I wasn't right, it would be back to square one again, but this time I would feel twice as depressed. The laptop probably only took about a minute to load, but it felt like _hours_! I was tempted to hit it a few times, just to see if it would work faster.

I felt nervous and apprehensive as I sat in front of the screen. What if my theory was right? How would I _actually_ be able to hack into MI6 using a game on my laptop? Now that I was thinking in a slightly less extreme way, I knew that it could all have just been a coincidence. A very weird coincidence, admittedly, but a coincidence nevertheless. But then, what would I do if I actually _was_ wrong? There hadn't been much in the way of a plan from the very beginning- just a vague outline involving the words 'hacking' and 'MI6'.

It loaded eventually, and I clicked on the games, my fingers crossed so tightly I could've sworn I cut off blood circulation. And the game wasn't on the laptop. I double and triple and quadruple checked it, but nope, no Melody Mills. No matter how much I detested that game, I would've given almost anything to see it on Karlie's computer.

But then, I thought, starting to feel a tad pessimistic, what would it have proven anyway? If the computers didn't have the game on it, the laptop wouldn't have, either. I just had been too excited to see that. Sighing gloomily, I clicked the power button and got up to go. Karlie was already asleep.

So much for hacking into MI6, I thought. It was all just a wild goose chase, and I'd gotten my hopes up for absolutely no reason at all. And Dan, I realised, still had my goddamned phone. I decided I may as well steal it back and have a conversation with Emma. It must've been about one o'clock by now, so where Emma was it would be... eight-ish? I couldn't be bothered with the mental arithmetic, so I went and stole my phone instead, taking care not to wake up Dan, 'cos it would be rather amusing to watch him freak out when he realised he'd lost my phone. Well, not really, but, well, it would be kinda awkward if he woke up and saw me standing over his bed, trying to figure out where the fuck he'd put my phone.

Back in my room once more, I dialled Emma's number. She picked up quickly.

"Anna?" She asked.

"No, it's Santa Claus- I'm doing early Christmas deliveries this year, 'cos the postage costs are just too damn high around Christmas right now, so, I'm just calling to warn you; don't go anywhere this week, in case your presents arrive," I told her sarcastically.

"Anna, it's, like, what... March? Oh crap, I can't even remember the month we're in," Emma muttered.

"Wow. Are you sure you're not ill?" I asked, teasingly.

"I'm fine, Anna, just having a mid-teen crisis. I spotted Mum today," Emma blurted out.

I realised she'd probably seen Mum before the first phone call, and, while I really didn't give a shit whether or not she'd seen Mum's dead body- well, I might get a tad upset, but not really. Mum was like a bossy old granny from down the road; you see her every day, you spend your life avoiding her, you're not really sure what to feel when she dies- Emma had clearly wanted to tell me this before, but instead, had had to put up with everyone else.

"When? And isn't that a good thing?" I demanded, my thoughts about the laptop temporarily forgotten.

"I thought it was supposed to but... I freaked out! Completely! I just panicked when I saw her. And by the time I snapped out of it, she'd gone!" Emma moaned.

"Dude, you wouldn't have been able to exactly tell her everything straight away anyway. We don't know whether or not she's still an alcoholic, although I suspect she probably still is, and we don't know how she might react. Maybe it was a good thing you didn't manage to get talking. And besides, at least you know she's actually over there, and you haven't been looking at the complete opposite end of the world to where she really is," I pointed out, my pessimism also pissing off momentarily.

"Yeah, I suppose," Emma sighed, "It was just... argh!" She cried, frustrated, "I can't even think straight right now! Since when did our family become so messed up, Anna?" She sighed, "Last year, everything was fine, you know? Sure, Mum was drunk, and we barely saw Dad, or much of Arron, really, either, but now? Our Mum is in _America_ for reasons beyond us both, Dad is missing, presumed dead, and we're only allowed to see Arron on weekends or whatever! When did this become so... out of control?"

"Um... since forever?" I asked, not really all that good at giving advice or whatever on the out of control thing, "And despite everything, I quite like my new life. Gabby's enjoying herself, we have friends here, we still _see_ Arron, I couldn't care less about Mum and I'm gonna find Dad anyway, so," I shrugged, even though I knew the gesture was useless on a phone.

I sat down on my bed again, unlocking my laptop and clicking the music on the game onto silence (that's only an option on the menu, unfortunately. On the game it plays that automatically), and pondered what to do, before deciding to fill in Emma on what I'd done tonight, and how pointless it'd been.

Emma listened carefully, choosing, I think, to confront my problems over her own personal crisis. When I finished explaining it, there was a moments silence.

"So... none of the other computers had it?" She double checked.

"Nope,"

"And Karlie's laptop didn't,"

"Again, no,"

"But the last level doesn't work properly, and it's been getting weird monthly update stuff on it," Emma went on.

"Yup,"

"So you need to ask yourself; what the difference is between the computers and our laptop," Emma told me, logically.

"Um... well..." I pondered that for a while, then gave up, going for the most obvious and least helpful; "We own our laptop, we don't own the computers or Karlie's laptop,"

"Yes," Emma prompted, and I could tell she was smiling, could tell she'd gotten something important I hadn't.

"Nope, I'm stuck," I admitted.

"Anna," Emma sighed impatiently, "_Our_ laptop. Dad worked for MI6, and he had access all the time to our laptop. What's to say he didn't just create Melody Mills as a way to get access to MI6 if we ever really needed it, but make it into a game so that we wouldn't accidentally get into MI6? And a really rubbish game that we wouldn't use much at all. And then, the updates thing, maybe that's the software updating or whatever. Something technical sounding,"

"Christ, Emma! You're a genius!" I grinned.

"Well, I do try to be modest about it,"

"Yeah, yeah, of course you do, you jammy sod," I rolled my eyes at the phone, "Right well, I've gotta go desert you to figure out just how the heck I use this 'technical sounding' shit to access the MI6 database,"

"Aw come on! That was my moment of triumph! Did you had to add that you were gonna trounce it?" Emma asked mockingly.

"Duh, I had to! My dignity would not allow me to do anything else!" I exclaimed.

Emma laughed, "Yeah, see you later, you freak," She told me affectionately.

"Ring you tomorrow or something," I agreed.

Emma called off, and I sat for a moment, staring at my computer screen. So I'd been sort of right; this was the start up programme that would give me access to MI6. The question was; how the hell was I gonna get that access?

If I didn't, I'm pretty sure I would be doomed to forever listen to the theme tune of Melody Mills. And that, I thought, shuddering, would truly be hell.


	24. The Art of Mastering Arts!

Chapter 76~Emma

After Anna's call, I was in a hurry to chose an outfit for the cinema tonight; Tina had offered to meet me at the park a couple of streets away, so I wouldn't get lost trying to find the cinema, and I was supposed to be there in ten minutes.

I eventually went for a denim skirt with black leggings and a random blue top that according to Anna (meaning, In probably should've burned the top) 'brought out the bluey stuff kinda colour' in my eyes. I shrugged on a jacket and headed for the door, yelling that I was off and grabbing my keys as I went. No one replied; everyone else was in the middle of a Buzz; Classical Music round, and didn't want to lose points if a bomb exploded on them or whatever.

Tina was waiting for me as I reached the park, and waved me over. We quick walked to the cinema, chatting about random things, Tina stopping every so often to explain a word I didn't understand, and vice versa.

Jan and Sophie were waiting with the cinema tickets for us, at the door of the cinema. They waved us over and we headed in, grabbing our seats and buying popcorn and drinks for the film. The film wasn't as good as we'd all hoped, so we mostly just chatted the whole way through it, saying sarcastic comments every time one of the characters said something stupid and blatantly obvious. Needless to say, we got several dirty looks from the people around us. Fortunately, none of them went to complain, so we didn't get kicked out.

The film lasted two long hours, so we didn't have time to mess about after it, since, if Sophie didn't get back before half ten, she'd be 'breaking curfew' and Jan wanted to get back to watch a programme on TV. We spilt off and went our separate ways home.

Frank, Chloe, Mel and Lee were still playing Buzz when I got in, but, since I was tired and there were only four remotes, I left them to it and headed up to my room. I debated calling Anna back, to see whether or not she'd gotten anywhere with the Melody Mills thing, but realised it was probably about three in the morning over in England, and Anna would probably have gone to sleep long ago.

I considered just ringing her anyway, since she had no worries about waking up other people, but decided that it was mean and unnecessary. Plus the fact that I didn't want to even _see_ what vengeance plan she came up with, let alone be on the receiving end of it! And we all know how keen Anna is on her vengeance plans.

So, rather than wake Anna up, I decided, like the good older-and-younger sister that I am, to email Arron, since I'd barely had a chance to talk to him since I'd gotten back from BT.

I logged onto my laptop and opened up my email account, making a mental note to delete everything off my history later, because A) Anna's paranoia is spreading and B) Chloe would kill me if she knew I was checking my emails.

_Hi Arron, Emma here. How's school nowadays? America's getting surprisingly boring right now =( I've got no one to talk to, and I can't call Anna because she's asleep, so I've been deprived from her very annoying voice for a few hours. Hope you're not getting overly hassled by Anna or Gabby- I know both of them are trying to convince you to prove you're not a geek. Email me back at some point, before I get bored out of my mind D=_

_Emma =)_

I clicked send and waited around a few minutes, hoping vaguely that I might get a reply straight away. No such luck... Sighing I shut down my laptop, double checked my phone and looked for something to do. I was beginning to hate this routine, and I'd only been doing it for two nights. There was simply _nothing_ to do except eat, sleep, go to school, email and talk to Anna. I hoped it would brighten up a bit when I got to be better friends with Jan, Sophie and Tina...

Eventually, I heard the other's go up to bed around me, and realised that I was probably going to be the last one to sleep tonight. I didn't think I would be able to sleep that much, anyway- I was still thinking back over seeing my Mum, blaming myself for not doing something _more_. My talk with Anna had helped a lot, admittedly, but I still felt restless and wide awake. I needed to get out and do something, I realised. I sat up, sighing, and headed for the door, thankful I hadn't bothered changing into my pyjamas, because otherwise this would've taken me quite a bit longer, and the more I thought about it, less likely I was to actually go through with it. The less likely I was to go through with it, the more I would regret it in an hour, when I still couldn't sleep.

I pulled on my trainers as I reached the door, patted my pocket to make sure my keys were still there, and let myself out quietly. Once outside I started walking away from the house and towards the city centre. I was walking at first, but I was restless, so, for a couple of miles, I ran. It felt good, knowing I could run for over five minutes without exhausting myself. This time last year I couldn't have. Even Anna couldn't have, although she was a lot sportier than I had ever been.

I stopped running after half an hour, feeling reasonably tired, and began to take in my surroundings, suddenly realising that I could very well be lost right now. Which would be very embarrassing- I'd have to ring Chloe or Frank and ask for them to pick me up. And then explain why I had gone out without telling them so late at night.

To my relief, however, I recognised enough of my current whereabouts to know how to get home. Deciding that if it took me half an hour running, it would take me a lot longer walking, I set off back the way I'd come. I hadn't gotten out of the house for any particular reason anyway, so the whole run hadn't been pointless.

I had only gone a few streets, however, when I realised where I was. The spot where I'd spotted Mum earlier. A part of me wanted to walk past, to carry on like I hadn't realised, because I'd come out here to escape thinking about Mum, hadn't I? But another part of me wanted to stay here, in the pathetic hope that I might actually see her again.

I guess someone high up in heaven liked me, though, since, coincidentally (more like highly suspiciously) someone turned onto this street and started down slowly, like their mind was somewhere else. As they got closer, I noted that it was a woman. A woman with blonde, ever so slightly wavy hair, who looked undoubtedly familiar. My jaw was beginning to make a habit of dropping wide open in awe.

I stared at my Mum getting ever so slightly paranoid that she had been following me around for reasons beyond me because, seriously, how had we actually managed to bump into each other, twice, in exactly the same place? Finally, I was noticed. Mum sucked in a shock breath and looked just as astounded as me. So I guessed she hadn't been stalking me. After a moment of silence, the questions came.

"What are you doing here? Where are Arron, Anna and Gabby? What happened?" My Mum asked demandingly, at the same time as I asked, "What are _you_ doing here? Why are you even in America? Why did you run off and _sell_ the house? What happened to _you_?"

There was a pause, then, "You answer first," We told each other.

Neither of us yielded any information. Me because, well, _really_, what could I say? I'm here because I'm a spy on a mission and I wanted to find you. Arron's being fostered or whatever by some ex-CHERUB agents, Anna and Gabby are on CHERUB campus. When you left we got put in an orphanage. Anna and I visited CHERUB campus and passed their tests. Arron and Anna got kidnapped. Gabby and I went to CHERUB. I started Basic Training, during which time, Arron and Anna arrived home. I wasn't exactly going to blurt all of that out in one go. Besides, while the street might have been deserted, anything I said would be loud enough in the quiet for any possible passer-by to hear.

I didn't know why Mum was here, but I was guessing she wasn't going to crack first. We would be demanding answers for a long time.

Mum sighed and glanced around us, "Its not safe here- anyone can overhear us,"

I blinked. Why would my Mum be bothered about who heard what? She didn't know I was an agent on a top secret mission, so why would anything need to be kept private. I suddenly realised, to my astonishment, that Mum probably didn't even know Dad wasn't dead.

"Meet me at the Northern end of Jabbergauld Street tomorrow morning, at eight," Mum continued, looking anxious.

Why would she feel anxious, at all? I agreed, and before I could say anything else, she was gone, running down the street again. I considered going after her, but if we were meeting tomorrow, what was the point? Anyway, I thought, cursing as I checked my watch, it was nearly half eleven, and I needed to get home soon.

* * *

><p>Chapter 77~Anna<p>

Melody Mills was the single most infuriating conundrum I'd ever had in my entire life. It had stuck me more than once that Dad had probably been relying on both Emma and I to be together to solve it, but since I was the only one around, I was hoping I'd still be able to solve the riddle and get to the MI6 hacking part, even though it would take twice as long.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly, glancing at the time on the clock and yawning. It was nearly four in the morning, and I was worn out completely, since I'd not slept at all. I yawned again and looked back to the computer. I'd tried _everything_. I'd tried going on the 'Make Your Own Melody' option on the game, and using the length of the notes as Morse code to write 'MI6' 'Password' 'SOS' '' 'DadImgonnakillyouformaking thissogoddamnedhard' and 'Fuckyouyoupieceofshitgame'. None of them had worked. I'd then proceeded to try to use another code. I was relying on level one meaning letter A, level two letter B, level 3 letter C, level four letter D and so on. I'd tried 'MI6' 'Password' '' and 'Ihateyou'. None of them had worked. And completing the levels then deliberately losing the game again and again was so painful!

Eventually, I was forced to the conclusion that the code ting wasn't working. So I tried completing the game again. After a further hour, I'd gotten to level 50, and should have completed it. Only it wouldn't. Deciding this was probably my next lead to go on, I wrote down the order of the melody, minus the bit that wasn't right, and went back to the game menu. I debated what to do from there, for several minutes, before going back through the game- to my horror- to see if the melody matched any of the previous melodies. It didn't. I'd tortured myself pointlessly. And deprived myself of even more sleep.

Deciding that if I didn't get this sorted out by half six- and it was ten to right now- I would go and get some sugary foods and some tea to work with, and if I didn't get it sorted by seven, screw it all and I'd have to try again in the afternoon- which, coincidentally, also meant screwing lessons.

I went onto 'Make Your Own Melody' again and slowly, started to copy in the tune I'd taken from level fifty. Let me tell you people, it ain't easy if you're musically challenged. Which I am. You have to make sure it's the right note, that the note is the right length, that the little thingie at the start is a treble clef and the fraction thingie next to it is 4/4 and then you have to double check you've put it all in the right order.

I yawned and clicked the 'Create Melody' button. And nearly screamed when the hateful theme tune stopped playing and my screen was replaced by a completely black background and two small boxes with 'Username' and Password' above them. Underneath that was a log in button. Very sinister looking. Very menacing. Especially since there was no longer annoying cheerful music playing, and I was suddenly aware of how silent the place was. I focused on the screen. It was really quite odd. No 'Remember me' options. No 'Remember password' or 'Keep me signed in' options. And it was incredibly... familiar for some reason. My sleep deprived brain, I decided, was not in the mood for hard work right now. I needed sugar, and lots of it.

It had taken me so long to put the tune into the 'Make Your Own Melody' that it was pretty much half six, anyway, so I wasn't exactly breaking my original deal. I padded slowly downstairs, yawning nonstop. My feet were dirty and saw off all the running around bare foot I'd been doing, and, usually, I wouldn't have gone anywhere outside of my room in my pyjamas except maybe on a sleepover, but this, I decided, was an emergency.

I reached the small kitchen place at the end of the corridor and found some diet coke sitting in the fridge tempting me. I poured myself a large glass and downed it in one, refilling it again immediately, then, after hunting down a mug, a teabag and the sugar pot, I made myself some tea, piling loads of sugar into it.

I also helped myself to a packet of chocolate digestives, a handful of white chocolate fingers and a Double Decker chocolate bar. I was pretty sure these were other people's stuff I wasn't really allowed to have, but, well, it was their fault for leaving it all in here, and I'd contributed to the stockpile of food as much as the next; one 400g Cadbury's chocolate bar, a cartoon of Tropicana orange juice, a six pack of Pepsi and three packets of doughnuts, to be precise (I usually sent someone in with a list of stuff I wanted them to buy me, when they got to go out unsupervised and I couldn't. Well, wouldn't, really. But who wants to go around with the little kids and the members of staff? I'd rather stay on campus and be a loner for the night!).

I shovelled the food into my mouth, finished the coke and cleared everything away after myself. I was nicking people's food; I didn't want to piss them off even more by leaving a mess behind! On my way out, I splashed a load of water on my face, too.

Back in my room, feeling considerably more refreshed than before, I sat back in front of my laptop. And leaped back up again almost immediately. Sugar helps your brains! I thought wildly, laughing out loud as I ran to my wardrobe, digging through the mess to find a certain well used, very old, beloved notebook that was falling apart. I knew I had recognised that damn computer screen! Chocolate, sugar and E-numbers make everyone clever!

I laughed out loud again, and flicked through the pages in my notebook, trying to find the right one. I grinned as I found it, and started reading through what I'd done, and mentally refining the technique. I stopped suddenly, as I realised something. I, Anna Simons, had hacked into MI6 before. When I was _seven_. After all of this time, I'd already hacked it!

I was a bit peeved in some ways, I mean, Christ... what a bloody waste of time! But still! _Seven_? But I was also incredibly pleased with myself. I had hacked into the British Secret Intelligence Service when I was seven. No _wonder_ I was so bigheaded!

I could almost imagine Emma face-palming at that thought, so decided to get back to the actual hacking. It would be a major embarrassment to know I'd been able to hack into Mi6 as a little kid but couldn't do it less than ten years later, even though, ultimately, I was more experienced, I was actually trying to hack into it, and I was more awesome right now than before.

I started typing, using my little notebook to help me and refining my over-eight-years-old technique so that I would (hopefully) be able to get into the MI6 database without tipping off too many morons that I was in. I knew I wouldn't be able to go completely unnoticed, but if I could delay how long it took for someone to realise and trace me back to CHERUB campus, then I might just have enough time to get the information I needed. I was thinking fast- I wouldn't be able to read and memorize every detail I needed, so I'd have to copy and paste everything into a Word document then hide the evidence that it had ever been there.

Once I was sure I'd added in everything I needed to the code, I stopped for a second, trying to think which files I needed to see, and how I might be able to find them. I needed to be as quick as possible. Hopefully, even if I was discovered by some technical dude back at MI6, they wouldn't have enough time to trace me here. It all depended, however, on how long it took me to find everything.

I took a deep breath, and activated the code which would allow me to bypass the MI6 security log in. There was no turning back now. If anyone found out I'd done this, I'd be eternally screwed.

* * *

><p>Chapter 78~Emma<p>

I had thought that I wouldn't have been able to get to sleep after running back home from my meeting with Mum. But I had. I'd slept like a log. I glanced at the alarm clock and saw it was almost half seven, and that if I didn't hurry up, I'd miss my meeting with Mum.

I leaped out of bed, hurrying to get dressed and sort my stuff out for school, before hurrying downstairs. Lee had already gone, as usual, but everyone else was still asleep. I cooked myself a fried egg, and popped some toast in the toaster. A few minutes later I was shovelling down my food, checking my watch every couple of seconds.

I hurriedly cleared my plate away, grabbed my keys from the counter and dashed off to find Lola. Jabbergauld Street was harder to find than I had originally thought, and I spent a good ten minutes trying to find it. I was working myself up into a massive panic, realising that if I didn't find the street soon, I'd miss my chance to properly meet up with Mum. Eventually, though, I found it, and with a sigh of relief, I stood waiting by the North end of the street (trust me, it had taken forever to find a compass that actually worked at such short notice, but I didn't know how else I was supposed to tell which end of the street was North, and the place was so crowded that I wouldn't have been able to see Mum if she'd been at the other end of the street).

At five past eight, I spotted my Mum hurrying towards me, looking around anxiously. I waved slightly to her, to make sure she knew I was there. When she was close enough to hear me, I froze, though. What was I supposed to say now? Hi Mum, how are you?

Mum appeared at a loss for what to say, but then she looked around the street carefully, and sighed, "I hope you don't mind, but we're going to have to find somewhere quite private. I only chose here because it was busy, but we can't stay where everyone can hear us,"

"I have school. It starts at quarter past nine," I warned her.

"Fine, fine, we have about an hour then, let's not waste it," Mum muttered, pulling me down a side alley and away from the hustle and bustle of the street. She let go as soon as we were inside the alley.

Warily, I followed her as she started off, leading me from alley to side street until, finally, we reached a deserted park.

"We can talk here," Mum sighed, gesturing to the empty space around us.

"Why are you in America?" I asked immediately.

Mum sighed, "When your father... 'died' I panicked. We'd always arranged that if something were to happen to one another, we would take the children, take you, and move elsewhere- to another country,"

The way she said the word died made me think she might just have an inkling of what had really happened. But, rather than picking up on that, I chose to say something else.

"You didn't take us though, did you? You ran away by yourself," It wasn't a question, it was the truth, and I struggled to keep the bitterness out of my tone.

Mum looked at me, "Emma, think about it- you should've been safe enough in care. I was an alcoholic. I was deemed unfit to be your guardian. It would've taken me months before the social services deemed me a reliable guardian. It was better that I left and severed any connection between you and me, before someone followed the trail and killed us all,"

I looked at her suspiciously, unsure whether to carry on with my current interrogation, or demand (even though I already knew) why someone would want to kill us all. But Mum just carried on.

"It wasn't the best thing to do, and I know. I realise that. But I panicked, and I fled, and by the time I had calmed down, it was too late to turn back. Too late to help anyone out," Mum sighed regretfully.

"Yet you had time to sell the house?" I demanded.

A small, quirky smile appeared on Mum's face, "I have my contacts,"

"So you managed to sell a house using your 'contacts', you moved over here in America, you and Dad had an agreement that if anything were to happen to either of you," I paused, thoughts clicking together. The things Mum had said. She knew Dad worked for MI6, but there was something more, "Why would anything happen to _you_? Dad's the secret agent," I blurted out finally.

Mum smiled, "Every family has their secrets. Michael's was buried deep, mine deeper so,"

"You... what?" I asked, astounded.

"I was a secret agent too," Mum confirmed, "Your Dad and I met on a mission, you know. But I got into a bad situation on my last mission- too many people knew my face, too many people became my enemy. So it was no more field work. I was offered a desk job or early retirement," Mum made a face, "A life of adventure, before being shoved behind a desk and given paperwork. It was something I knew I would never be able to adjust to. So I took early retirement and left,"

I was too astounded for words. My jaw was beginning to be permanently slack, nowadays. My _Mum_ had been a secret agent. _Mum_ the alcoholic. Christ. It was too much to take in, really. And that wasn't the end to her story- she was still talking.

"A few weeks ago, I was contacted by someone, an old friend, I found out later. There's an MI6 base right here, barely three miles away from where we are right now, and I'm back under the command of Green. I've also gotten my old work partner back- Jason McKrez," Mum turned to look at me, "I've told you why I'm here. Now you tell me what you're doing here, and where your brother and sisters are,"

I took a deep breath, "Anna and Gabby are at this place called CHERUB. Arron's being fostered or something by this couple who live nearby, so they see him every weekend or something. He's still going to school in Manchester though. I'm here on a mission," I told her.

Mum's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean 'a mission'?"

"Well... we got recruited by this... agency that trains kids to be spies. Their logic is that no one ever suspects a kid. I passed Basic Training about a week ago, and I got given a mission over here. Plus Meryl had attempted to track you down, and this was the last place you'd been seen,"

"You're all agents?" Mum looked horrified.

I blushed, "Sheesh, Mum, it's no big deal. If it makes you happy, Arron can't 'cos he's too old, Gabby isn't old enough yet, and Anna needs to complete Basic Training before she can become one too,"

"Yes it is a big deal," Mum snapped, "Being an agent- it ruins your life! You get thrust into adventure after adventure for several years running, and you start to love it. You start to love all the action, the thrills, the mystery. The sense of achievement when you bring someone down, but once it's over? You can't go back to the way you were. You've probably killed someone by the end. You're haunted by that. You can't sit behind a desk all day and work, because it's too slow, too boring after so many years of adventure. You won't ever properly adjust to your _real_ life. Being an agent ruins your life," Mum told me gravely.

"That is the single biggest piece of codswallop I've ever heard in my life! I didn't ask to be an agent! Not really! And even now I'm not having much fun- I've sat around feeling lonely for the past few days because, back at campus, I had a whole bunch of friends and we were always together and messing around!" I argued.

Mum looked at me hardly, and I was shocked to realise how much of a changed person she was. She'd stopped drinking, too. That much was, now anyway, obvious. The woman in front of me was no longer my Mum. But then, my Mum had never exactly been someone I'd liked.

Mum smiled, sensing my predicament, "I'm a different person than I used to be. A lot less self-indulged for a start. I would like to hope it's been a change for the better,"

I paused, "Yeah. But... I don't really feel comfortable calling you Mum, anymore," I told her truthfully, "You're not my Mum- not in that sense," It hurt to admit it. Mum wasn't Mum. And I'd followed her halfway across the world to find my Mum.

The woman in front of me smiled, "Then I think it's time we started again, Emma. Call me Lola," She smiled and stretched out a hand.

I took it, smiling slightly, "Nice to meet you then, Lola,"


	25. The Art Of Being Awesome Part 2

Chapter 79~Anna

It took me seconds to work out how to get myself around the MI6 database, and within seconds, I'd found a nifty little search bar, and typed in 'Simons' in the agents section. To my surprise, four results came up.

_Michael Simons_

_Lola Simons_

_Arron, Emma, Anna and Gabby Simons_

Frowning, I clicked on the last one first- what can I say? I'm a curious bugger.

_**Arron Simons**_

_**Gender**__- Male; __**DOB**__- 11/07/1992; __**Height**__- 175cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Brown; __**Eye Colour**__- Brown; __**Skin Colour**__- Dark; __**Languages**__- English, French; __**Family**__- Lola Simons (see file), Michael Simons (see file), Emma Simons, Anna Simons and Gabby Simons; __**Notes**__- Wants to study medicine at university. Keeps in regular contact with all three sisters, and two friends called Sean and Richard._

So Arron did have some friends! He might even, by the looks of it, have a social life too! A miracle!

_**Emma Simons**_

_**Gender**__- Female; __**DOB**__- 14/03/1996; __**Height**__- 164cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Blonde; __**Eye Colour**__- Blue; __**Skin Colour**__- Pale; __**Languages**__- English, French, Chinese, (learning) German and Italian; __**Family**__- Lola Simons (see file), Michael Simons (see file), Arron Simons, Anna Simons and Gabby Simons; __**Notes**__- Anna is her twin. The two of them are identical apart from height and eye colour. Polar opposite personalities. Used to do Karate._

_**Anna Simons**_

_**Gender**__- Female; __**DOB**__- 14/03/1996; __**Height**__- 170cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Blonde; __**Eye Colour**__- Brown; __**Skin Colour**__- Pale; __**Languages**__- English, (learning) French, German, Spanish and Portuguese; __**Family**__- Lola Simons (see file), Michael Simons (see file), Arron Simons, Emma Simons and Gabby Simons; __**Notes**__- Emma is her twin. Shows amazing talent at hacking. Used to do Karate._

_**Gabby Simons**_

_**Gender**__- Female; __**DOB**__- 27/09/2002; __**Height**__- 170cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Blonde; __**Eye Colour**__- Brown; __**Skin Colour**__- Pale; __**Languages**__- English, (learning) French, German, Spanish and Portuguese; __**Family**__- Lola Simons (see file), Michael Simons (see file), Arron Simons, Emma Simons and Anna Simons_

Well, these people knew a bloody lot about us! It was very creepy and stalker-ish in the same way the files about us on Karlie's laptop had been. I copied the stuff onto a document anyway. Then I moved onto the next one up- Mum's. I was curious to why the hell she'd gotten her own file when _we'd_ all had to share. I got my answer pretty quickly. And, seriously, I had _not_ been expecting it.

_**Lola Simons**_

_**Agent Status**__- Previously Retired, Now Active; __**Command Station**__- Atlantis City, America; __**Commander**__- Green; __**Current Location**__- Atlantis City, America; __**Gender**__- Female; __**DOB**__- 27/02/1969; __**Height**__- 159cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Blonde; __**Eye Colour**__- Blue; __**Skin Colour**__- Pale; __**Languages**__- English, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Polish; __**Family**__- Michael Simons (see file), Arron Simons, Emma Simons, Anna Simons and Gabby Simons (see files); __**Current Work Partner**__- Jason McKrez; __**Current Work**__- Unknown (contact with current office is unadvisable unless there is an emergency); __**Reason for Previous Retirement**__- Took on major criminals she is more than likely to meet again. Effective use as an agent was minimal. Turned down desk job and retired herself; __**Operations**__- Operation Sand Grain, Crocodile Raid, Operation Land Storm, Operation Violet, Stonehenge Contact, Fray Complex and Blue Hand_

_**Further Information Requires a Higher Clearance Level**_

Jesus fucking Christ! Mum! An agent! This had to be some pathetic practical joke! How was Mum gonna take out a bunch of bad guys? What was she gonna do? Spew on them? But MI6 tells no lies, apparently, since Emma was in Atlantis City, in America, and that was where Lola had last been. I decided to move on, before I got too depressed that Mum had fooled us all into thinking she was a useless drunk. Unless she _had_ been a useless drunk- the file did say she'd been 'Previously Retired'. I copied the files into a word document.

I went onto the file I'd been trying to get a hold of ever since I'd found out my Dad was A) an agent B) still alive and C) presumed mission. This was what I'd spent the last few months obsessing over. It had better bloody well be worth it.

_**Michael Simons**_

_**Agent Status**__- Missing; __**Command Station**__- Manchester, England; __**Current Location**__- Unknown; __**Gender**__- Male; __**DOB**__- 08/01/1971; __**Height**__- 182cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Brown; __**Eye Colour**__- Brown; __**Skin Colour**__- Pale; __**Languages**__- English, Russian, German, Welsh, French and Mandarin; __**Family**__- Lola Simons (see file), Arron Simons, Emma Simons, Anna Simons and Gabby Simons (see files); __**Operations**__- Coat and Glove, Short Straw, Union Jack, Colour Pin, Green Magnet, Operation Free Agent, Operation Steady Hand, Operation Three-Zero, Plotted Plant, New World, Three Point Attack_

_**See Missing People's File Here**_

To my disappointment, the file was surprisingly small. But then, so had Mum's and ours. The barest amount of information possible had been displayed, probably to help keep people's identities safe in situations like this. I copied the information, this time waiting to see it actually paste into word- if I was going to find Dad, I'd need this information.

Then I clicked on the link to the missing people's page.

_**Missing People's- Michael Simons**_

_**Last Seen**__- On way to safe location, Huddersfield Rode, B6175 heading North-East, away from Manchester; __**Possible Sightings**__- The Missing Anchor; __**Possible Location**__- Safe house; Worlds End, Hambledon, Waterlooville, Hampshire or The Missing Anchor; __**Search Leader**__- Peter Kenedy_

_**Search Update**__; I have searched everywhere for Michael and have seen nothing of him. There is no dead body, but no sighting of an alive one either. I am still hopeful that our searching will yield something. We have thought Michael dead before, only to be proved wrong. I still hope that he merely has trouble contacting anyone, or has decided to wait Dasakota out, make sure they truly believe him dead._

_However, as that is doubtful, I must go on to add another option. Michael is not dead, or waiting Dasakota out. Before he left on his final mission- Dasakota- Michael and I shared a few words. Michael believes that there is a spy within the Manchester division. Someone has been leaking other criminal organizations highly sensitive information. The fact that Dasakota knew exactly where Michael was heading, when he was being driven to the safe house that had only been arranged hours before, makes this almost certain proof._

_After the car crash, Michael gave me a message which I suspect means more than it seems. However, I will not share it here, where any agent can read it. I will keep it in my personal files where no one will be able to reach it. They are fully protected by MI6 and completely un-hack-able. By anyone. It would be nice for anyone wishing to view the files to ask me first._

_-Peter Kenedy_

Well, that sounded like a great invitation to me! However, I was growing more aware of the amount of time I was spending on this- I didn't want to waste even more time hacking into _more_ MI6 protected files! I decided I'd just check out Peter's file, then Dasakota's file, then the leader guy's file, then the file about the mission that Dad had been on to take them down. And I would have to do all of those things in a limited amount of time. But I'd come back and at least attempt to get to the message before anything else. I copied and pasted, checking again that it actually came up on the word document, before searching Peter's name in the agents search thingie.

His file came up;

_**Peter Kenedy**_

_**Agent Status**__- Active; __**Command Station**__- Manchester, England; __**Commander**__- Karp; __**Current Location**__- Manchester, England; __**Gender**__- Male; __**DOB**__- 18/11/1963; __**Height**__- 172cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Brown; __**Eye Colour**__- Grey; __**Skin Colour**__- Dark; __**Languages**__- English, Russian, Welsh, French, Swahili and Hindi; __**Family**__- Carol Kenedy, Danny Kenedy (see files); __**Current Work Partner**__- Francis Codge; __**Current Work**__- Operation False Security; __**Operations**__- Asian Flag, Green House, Green Magnet, Operation Free Agent, Operation Steady Hand, Operation Three-Zero, Plotted Plant, New World, Three Point Attack (partial involvement)_

I didn't read it all- I stopped after the first two lines, pasting it, then moving on. I knew most of this stuff already. Dasakota next.

_**Dasakota**_

_**Missions Against**__- Three Point Attack (involved; Michael Simons), Operation False Security; __**Known Information**__- Very little is known. A higher clearance level is needed here; __**Future Plans**__- The Governmental Plot, Gun Powder & Treason, Initiative Bargain, Flux Capacity, Book Covers; __**Previous Plans**__- Short Sword, Point of Sharp Sword, Sword, Pointed Sword, Sword Point, Flower-Weed, Information Treaty; __**Known Locations**__- Manchester, London, Ipswich; __**Suspected Locations**__- Liverpool, Devon, Suspected safe house at coordinates (-); __**Average Members**__- Over 100; __**Leader**__- John Smith (see file); __**Notes**__- Do not seem capable of giving their operations decent names_

I smiled when I read the Missions Against thing- at least I wouldn't have to go searching everywhere to find the information on the mission. I added the Operation False Security mission to my list of pages to see. And I should probably see if the MI6 dudes knew about Dasakota's plan about the prison break too, I thought grudgingly, and tip them off if they didn't. This list just kept getting higher and bloody higher! I thought to myself, getting frustrated. I'd been reading all these files for about ten minutes now, and I was fifty percent sure that someone would be on my trail now. It would only take a few minutes before I knew someone would _definitely_ be on my tail, and then I'd have to scram before they tracked me here. Because if they did, the whole campus would be screwed. I copied, then moved on.

Next on my list; Dasakota Leader Guy. Huh... John Smith? That was a bit... unoriginal, I decided. Talk about copying off Doctor Who!

_**John Smith**_

_**Gender**__- Male; __**DOB**__- 18/07/1963; __**Height**__- 158cm; __**Hair Colour**__- Dark Brown; __**Eye Colour**__- Green; __**Skin Colour**__- White; __**Languages**__- English; __**Family**__- Celia Wood-Smith, Carron Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Gordon Smith, Jeremy Smith; __**Notes**__- Leader of Dasakota. Currently in Jail; __**Other References**__- Three Point Attack, Operation False Security_

Not much to go on, but still. I copied and pasted impatiently, getting really worried about how long I'd been on MI6 for now. This was taking too much time. I'd thought it would only take me three minutes to find the information I needed. It was all taking too long. I needed to hurry up. My laptop would alert me if someone was dangerously close to tracing my exact signal, so I would have some warning, and the firewalls I'd beefed up should help. But I didn't know how much longer I had.

I was sure it wasn't enough time.

But I had to try at least.

* * *

><p>Chapter 80<p>

Mac had woken up Meryl a couple of minutes earlier, saying that there had been an alert- a certain someone had triggered the software on a certain laptop. Anna had hacked into MI6. The two of them were sat in front of Meryl's computer. They watched for a few minutes, seeing what Anna was looking for, then decided to branch off- they needed to find their own information, and now that they were in, they didn't need to wait for Anna to get it for them. They began their search. They didn't have long, and they needed every minute possible.

Francis watched with worried anticipation for the right moment. He'd managed to stop anyone discovering someone had hacked in so far, but in a few minutes, that was about to change. Every alarm in the whole centre would be ringing, alerting everyone of the hack. But he had to let enough time pass. He had to make sure that the hacker had enough time to get almost all of what they needed, before they were caught. He also had to make sure they knew exactly how the alarm had been triggered. Everything had to go perfectly according to plan.

Peter sat with the phone against his ear, advising Mac and Meryl on how to find the right files, the right information. He couldn't- Karp had restricted his file access ages ago and even if he got around that, if he was discovered, he'd be fired immediately, and then he wouldn't be able to help anyone- but he knew how to get to the stuff they needed. He just hoped they found it before someone found Anna. He felt horrible- the blame for this incident, if it didn't go undiscovered, would go straight to Anna. No one would notice that Mac and Meryl would've also 'hacked' into MI6. Everything they did would be blamed on Anna.

But he knew the girl would take it all in her stride- she was a strong willed character, just like her father had been. Anna would be fine.

He hoped.

Dan had been woken up minutes earlier to the news that Anna was hacking MI6, and that he was needed in the mission preparation building. He hurriedly changed out of his pyjamas and headed over, knowing they didn't have long if they were going to find what they needed. He arrived at Meryl's office minutes later and went inside without knocking. Peter was on the phone- which had been put on speaker, so everyone could hear- and he was giving them direction upon direction on how to find the file. Dan peered at the screen and waited for the right information to come up.


	26. Sarcasm Rules!

Ok, sorry it tok me so long to update D= i was being attacked by my cousins and am only just recovering from my ordeal now =D

Anyway, if I don't update again in the next... three (?) days, Merry Christmas everyone =)

* * *

><p>Chapter 81~Anna<p>

I was officially panicking. My laptop had announced a few seconds earlier that someone was starting to trace my signal. I didn't know how long I had left, but I knew I had to get off the MI6 database before it was too late. My heart was pounding in my chest, a mixture of nerves and anticipation filled me- would I sort everything out in time?

I found, after a couple of tries, the file about the last mission Dad went on, clicked on it and copied it without even looking. I was just about to cross off everything when I re-remembered the prison break thingie. I was gonna have to give them _some_ sort of tip-off. I wasn't gonna let Dasakota get away with a prison break! I bit my lip and started typing as fast as I could, feeling more and more panicked. I didn't have enough time for this. But I had to do it.

I tried the date of the meeting- the one that's happening tomorrow, now- first, but got nothing out of it. I tried the words 'prison' and 'break' but nothing came up. So I re-searched Dasakota, remembering that there had only been two missions against it, and one of them had been my Dad's. So, logically, if they knew about the prison break then the other operation would be one working towards ruining their plans. I clicked on the mission file, the one that read Operation False Security, and thanked my bloody lucky stars.

_**Operation False Security**_

_**Mission Objective**__- To capture the remaining members of Dasakota; __**Mission Status**__- Planning Stage; __**Agents Involved**__- Kenedy, Codge, Karp, Harlson, Fungson, Charles, Pierce, Dobben, Abbeer, Smith, Turner, Anderson, Korman, Hassen and Petter; __**Basic Outline**__- Remaining Dasakota members will attempt to break John Smith out of the prison in Manchester. MI6 agents, prison guards and some members of the police will be waiting to recapture them __**Date of Mission Launch; **__This Friday_

So they _did _know about it! At least I wouldn't have to mess around trying to tip them off. I copied and pasted, and sighed in relief.

But my relief didn't last long. My laptop bleeped at me again, warning me that someone was dangerously close to finding my location. I moved my mouse over and stabbed the cross button, lightning fast. And nothing happened. Oh Jesus Christ! You _had_ to make it impossible, didn't you? I growled at the computer, stabbing the Close button again. This time a notification popped up.

_**Are you sure you wish to navigate away from this page?**_

_**Yes**_

_**No- I want to stay on this page**_

_**Cancel**_

I clicked the yes. Noting happened. I was getting desperate now, as my laptop started beeping almost continuously. This was time for extremes, clicking fast I chose cancel and brought up the page schematics, looking at it all furiously for some sort of alteration to the way the Close button worked. My laptop beeped louder. My eyes narrowed to pinpricks in my desperation. I felt like screaming at my computer. This was so not what I had planned, and so not good! I was gonna be eternally screwed. Forever.

My Dad had taught me, once how to change the way a website or pretty much any program worked, so that the 'Close' button, 'Restore Down/Maximize' button and the 'Minimize' button wouldn't do exactly what they were supposed to. He'd said it was a good way to delay or seriously annoy someone. Well whichever retard had done this was seriously delaying me now!

Finally, I spotted the alteration, and set to work trying to fix it, knowing it would be completely impossible to get off the program any faster way. Meanwhile, the beeping went on. And on. And on. The damn thing was still 'adjusting to new program features'. It wasn't even new features! I was replacing the new features with the old ones! ARGH!

Realising that if I was gonna be traced I was gonna be traced, I decided, out of curiosity, to see whether this was a precaution added to everything all of the time, or maybe just added a few months ago. To my surprise, shock and paranoia, the update had only been added to the system yesterday. Why would they have updated all of this, only a day before I hacked into it? They couldn't exactly have had any advanced warning- only Emma knew (yeah, right) what I'd been planning, and she hadn't known I'd been hacking it tonight until I'd called her.

Suddenly, the bleeping on my computer turned into one big long bleep, which was basically Morse code for my computer swearing. I'd been traced back to here. So much for the no-one-will-ever-find-out-I-did-it-and-I-will-not-get-into-any-trouble idea, and the even-if-someone-notices-me-hacking-I'll-have-been-long-gone-by-then thought could go to hell. Mac was gonna slaughter me. I was probably gonna get expelled from CHERUB.

I snapped back into action, though, attempting to salvage my mission- they didn't exactly know where I was in the whole of CHERUB campus, so I had evidence to bury. The 'new programme features' had finally 'adjusted' so I once again stabbed the cross button, and it (hurray!) worked. Then I saved all the information I'd gotten off MI6 onto a memory stick, which I then promptly hid in a secret compartment in my bed. A place I like to call; under the mattress.

After that, I went back to my laptop and switched it off, putting on the floor under my desk and getting into bed. I had no doubt that tomorrow- well, today, really- was gonna be a hard day. I would need all the sleep I could get if someone put two and two together and realised it was me who had hacked MI6. I would actually be lucky to get more than two hours of sleep before someone demanded me to be brought in front of Mac. I pulled the covers up to my shoulders and fell asleep, exhausted, the moment my head hit the pillow. I was seriously hoping for a good ten hour sleep. But I ended up with four hours, instead.

At exactly eleven o'clock, the door to my room was broken down (ok, not really- it hadn't even been locked, to be honest, but still, it was flung open very violently) and an extremely pissed of Meryl Spencer stalked into the room. My first thought; I'm screwed. My second thought; fuck it.

"Anna Simons you get yourself out of bed right now! You, young lady, have some serious explaining to do!" She screeched at me.

"Go away. Come back late evening, I may be up then," I mumbled, pulling the covers over my head like the sulky teenager I was.

"You've been caught on camera wrecking the doors to the Education block, which will cost £50 per door to repair, and _you_ Miss Simons, will be paying every last penny of it!"

"Stuff you," I reported sleepily.

Couldn't the moron see I was trying to get some sleep? I had never been so freaking tired in my life! Well... maybe I had been, but still! I was a suffering child here!

"If you do not get out of bed right now, I'll give you five hundred punishment laps!" Meryl warned.

"Your punishment laps can kiss my ass," I told her.

"I will confiscate your laptop from you for the next year, give you school throughout all of the holidays this year, make you teach when you're not in school and make you do 150 days of Basic Training if you do not get up now," Meryl amended.

I shot up out of bed, "Happy now?" I glared at her, feeling yucky, half awake and deathly pale like you always do in mornings.

I want you in my office in ten minutes, young lady, and if I do not see you there by that time, I'll add even more punishments to that list," Meryl snapped, before stalking out.

"Next time," I called after her, "Use this magical device called a telephone, that way you can save yourself the exercise of walking all the way here. Oh, and I can simply ignore you and go back to sleep!"

Meryl didn't answer.

I got up and dressed as slowly as possible, making sure I was gonna arrive at Meryl's office _just_ before my ten minutes were up. I was gonna make Meryl regret waking me up at eleven o'clock (even though I would've been fine with it yesterday). Rather than being boring and polite and knocking, when I reached Meryl's office, I walked straight in and sat down on a seat in front of Meryl's desk. This seemed to irk Meryl, for some unknown reason.

"Anna, you are supposed to knock before entering the room,"

I shrugged, "Supposed to, it's not exactly a written down rule. What you gonna do about it? Besides, you were expecting me anyway, so it's not like I just barged in uninvited. If you can call up at any point and demand I go to your office, I say I should be allowed to just walk into your office anytime,"

Meryl clearly decided she was wasting time on a battle I was going to win anyway.

"So... are you not going to start yelling at me for breaking down doors or whatever?" I asked, half hoping she'd forgotten.

Meryl sighed, "No, that was a... cover, although I am angry about you for breaking those doors! They're actually quite expensive to mend!"

"What do you mean 'a cover'," I demanded

She took a deep breath, "No one can know the real reason your here- they have to think I'm telling you off about the door,"

"...So what is the real reason I'm here?" I admit it; I was getting curious now.

Meryl shook her head, "Anna, if you don't mind we'll have to sit and wait a few minutes. I'm waiting for two other people,"

"Who?" I asked trying to get as much information as possible.

"Peter Kenedy and Mac," Meryl crossed her arms.

I connected the dots. Peter was from MI6, Mac was the Chairman of CHERUB. Meryl was my handler. I was screwed. Oh well. We waited in tense, strained silence for about ten minutes. I was getting majorly bored. Finally, Peter and Mac walked in.

"Sorry it took us so long. MI6 just doesn't want to let Peter go right now, and it was unbelievably hard getting him past our own security," Mac apologised.

Seriously? Peter wasn't here officially? He wasn't supposed to be here? What the hell? The two men took seats and there was an awkward pause, which I wasn't going to hesitate to use.

"Hiya Peter, good to see you. How's MI6? I hear something happened up there last night," I began, not willing to connect myself exactly to what had happened.

Mac took a breath, "Anna, we need you to promise that you won't take any of this conversation out of this room. Peter isn't supposed to be here, and we aren't supposed to have any idea what you did last night. And we're definitely not supposed to be warning you,"

Warning me? I looked at all three adults, "What did I do last night?" I asked pointedly.

I got a we're-not-as-stupid-as-you-think-we-are-Anna look from all three. Well, clearly, they were, because which one us hacked into MI6? And it doesn't count that Peter would never need to. And, as far as I knew, they had no clue I was secretly calling Emma every day/night, did they?

"Promise, Anna," Meryl demanded.

"Fine, yeah, whatever, I promise," I rolled my eyes. This was one promise I wasn't going to be keeping long.

"Anna, we know you hacked into MI6 last night," Mac said bluntly. Well... Shit.

"But that isn't the important factor," Meryl continued, "The important factor is that MI6 know you did too,"

I raised my eyebrows, "I highly doubt it. They may be able to track me back to a here, but after that it could be anyone. They can be suspicious all they like, but they have no proof it was me, and they're probably not going to find all that much," Oh yeah! This is why I love being so awesome! They literally couldn't say it was me without finding solid evidence- well, not straight away, anyway- so until then, I was a free girl!

Peter sighed, "They've been working all of this morning on this, Anna. Anyone spare from any project has been called in to help. They've got all their best technicians working on it. It may take a few days, but they will track you down," Hmmm... ok, the free girl status wasn't going to last that long then... I may as well enjoy it while I can...

"Which is why you need to be careful for the next few days," Mac told me, "MI6 are going to send some investigators here, who'll be searching for any connections between the hacking and us. You're one of their prime suspects. You can hack better than pretty much anyone on campus, and pretty much everyone here can admit that. It won't take them long to deem that you were the one who hacked MI6 and when they do, they'll want to take you into custody,"

"So? There's no actual proof, and I'm pretty sure they can't lock me up in a prison until I'm eighteen, by which time I'll have been booted off CHERUB campus with a brand spanking new identity. What exactly are they going to do with a kid that doesn't technically exist?"

"It isn't always a good thing to not exist, Anna, and MI6 are willing to play dirty. Whatever happens, they will at least attempt to take you into their custody and while we can discourage them, there is not a lot we can do," Meryl warned. Well... Double shit.

"So you're basically saying I'm gonna be arrested until further notice," I scowled, "And that I'm pretty much screwed," How the fuck was I supposed to find my Dad from behind a set of prison bars?

"Yes," Peter told me, "But there's another thing you need to be careful about,"

I turned my attention to him, "And what would that be?" How exactly could this situation get worse? I should never have spent so bloody long looking through all of those files!

"Your father suspected that there was a spy in MI6, before he disappeared. There is definitely someone leaking information. Dasakota knew, somehow, where and when he was being moved to a safe house, but now other things have happened and it almost definitely proves there is a spy. Unfortunately, everyone refuses to see that, and only a few people agree with me. However, I have a suspicion over who it might be,"

"Who?" I demanded, serious now. Whoever this spy was, I was going to _kill_ them for what they'd done.

Peter made a face, "My new work partner- Francis Codge. There is something not quite right about him. Something suspicious. Something that doesn't quite add up,"

"Note to self," I muttered, "Avoid creepy looking suspicious dudes whilst in custody,"

"Anna, you realise that as someone capable of hacking into MI6, you're a very valuable playing piece to have. MI6 has one of the most secure networks in the country. You have to be careful while you're there. A spy in MI6 will probably not leave MI6 at the advantage," Mac put in.

"OK... So basically I might be killed, kidnapped- again- or forced to hack into some security thingie against my will. Sounds great," I said cheerfully. Well, sarcastically at least. When all else fails, use sarcasm; it may be the lowest form of wit, but it sure as hell wins all arguments! I reckon people only say that because they suck at sarcasm, to be quite frank.

"The investigators arrive tomorrow, Anna. Be on your guard," Meryl warned, dismissing me.

I got up without any comeback (for once) and left, my head reeling.

* * *

><p>Chapter 82~Emma<p>

At school that day, I felt as if nothing that happened could bring me down. Not even Paula. I felt like a slight moron, but I couldn't keep the massive grin I had off my face. I'd finally found... Lola and had a proper conversation. And we were going to meet up, same time, same place, tomorrow, to talk a bit more. And Lola had been an agent working for MI6 once! I couldn't believe it, and was tempted to call Anna and tell her, but I decided it could wait for now. After all, I couldn't exactly ring her in the middle of school, could I?

To be honest, I was more than a little surprised to find that school was back on today, I mean, one of the buildings' top floors _had_ just been burnt down. At my old school, we would've been given about two weeks off. In some ways, I wish we had been given two weeks off. But then again, it would be two weeks of me sitting around doing nothing. And we had a mission to crack on with- Chloe had planned The Meeting all out to the letter, making sure we all knew where to be when. It'd be in a few days time, though, and I would only need to be there if Mel somehow couldn't. So I was mostly fine with it.

My positive mood lasted out the school day and the whole way home, too. I helped Mel make dinner, ate it then went upstairs and sat down to do my homework (having decided that it was the best way to pass the time right now). I had done my French, Maths, Geography and Physics by six o'clock which was, in my opinion, great timing.

I decided that now was as good a time as any to ring Anna, so I picked up my phone and headed out into the garden to make sure no one heard me and thought I was talking to myself.

"Hi Emma!" Anna answered, after several rings.

"You will not believe what I found out today," I told her, grinning in anticipation. It was a shame really; that I wouldn't be able to see Anna's face when I told her. I paced the garden, making sure I was out of sight, to keep warm. It was nearly dark now, and I was getting cold.

"Nope, probably not, but then, my day's been wild enough, so my imagination's having a day off. My whole _brain _is having a day off, actually. I'm freaking exhausted- a grand total of four hours sleep last night. Plus it's now eleven over here,"

I winced, "Sorry, Anna,"

"Nah, it doesn't matter. I wasn't properly asleep anyway," Anna shrugged it off, "So what's the big news?"

"I talked to Mum," I began, unsure how exactly I was supposed to tell her about Lola.

"Really? And she wasn't drunk, unconscious, tied up or otherwise?" My sister demanded.

If we had been talking face to face, I would've given her a withering look, but instead I had to settle to a withering silence.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," My sister replied to my silence, "You can continue now,"

"Mum's an agent, Anna, she's working for MI6," I told her quickly, hoping no one was listening.

There was a pause, "Holy shit. I just found that out this morning!" Anna exclaimed.

"...What?" I exclaimed, "How? When? Why didn't you tell me before now?" I demanded, conveniently forgetting that I'd only just found it out this morning too, and that I was only telling Anna now.

"Um... well," Anna coughed, and I could hear her moving quickly, a door being shut and locked, and then the shower being turned on. Anna was- for once- being precautious about something. Probably too precautious.

I connected the dots, "You did it, didn't you, you hac-"

"Shhh!" Anna hissed down the phone, "Seriously, don't say anything about it. Well, not directly, anway,"

"Why?" I demanded. I knew Anna could get paranoid sometimes, but this was extreme!

"They traced back the location to... where I am now. Some investigator dudes are turning up tomorrow to look around and try and figure out who did it. Well, they're officially starting tomorrow, but you can bet they're trying in every way possible to monitor all phone calls being made in this area, all internet use, everything. If they find... that person, they'll take them into custody until they can decide what to do, or whatever. Mac and Meryl say that they're prepared to play dirty, anyway. If most of the evidence points to me, even though there is no direct proof, I'm gonna be arrested."

I groaned, "You have _got_ to be kidding me! Seriously? You realise this is only further proving me theory that whenever we get separated something bad happens to you? When I get back I am not letting you out of my sight, Anna Simons!" I scolded her.

I'd been gone for no time at all and the moron had already gotten herself into massive trouble! I couldn't believe her! What had she been thinking? How had this even happened?

"Hey, it's not my fault! It all took a little longer than... the person anticipated, that's all. They didn't exactly trace a precise point in the whole of... this place, they just got some rough co-ordinates. It could be anyone from here, or from one of the surrounding villages or whatever!" Anna whined.

"We're going to talk about this when I get back, Anna," I told her darkly.

"Great," She muttered, "I'm looking forward to it," I presumed that was sarcasm- one of Anna's more perfected arts.

"I'm sure you are," I told her patronizingly, "So I don't expect for a minute that you're now coming up with all possible ways of avoiding me until I forget this,"

"Damn..." My sister muttered from the other end of the phone. I would've smiled if it hadn't been so serious.

I sighed and looked around outside, "Anyway, Anna, I just thought I'd tell you that I don't think Mum's actually drinking anymore. She's improved loads,"

"You mean, she's gone from being an insufferable pain in the arse to... what?" Anna prompted, making me feel slightly irritated.

"To someone who might actually care about us," I told Anna, "I don't know. She's just... really different to how she was,"

"Right, of course," My sister said scathingly.

"Don't believe it if you don't want to, Anna, but I'm telling you, Mum's changed," I snapped. So Lola hadn't exactly been amazing, and Anna hated her. Couldn't Anna stop and listen and just _try_ to give Lola a second chance?

"I'll believe _that _when I see it," Anna told me scornfully. Apparently not.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, and when you see it, what are you going to do?" I asked.

"Take a picture of the pigs flying overhead," Anna replied.

"Nice to know you believe me, then," I sighed, aiming for jokey but sounding depressed and a tad whiny.

"I believe you, Emma, I just don't believe Mum will ever change," Anna admitted with a sigh.

"You know, that is actually kinda sad," I told her, "living your whole life not being able to trust your Mum, or believe she has ever or will ever care about you,"

"Yup, pretty much. I guess it's what makes me so sarcastic. Either that or I inherited the wit needed for such skills," Anna joked.

"Sarcasm," I quoted, "Is the lowest form of wit,"

"And what's the highest? Honesty? People who say that shit are just jealous because they can't deal with sarcastic people. Sarcasm wins you the argument. Honesty gets you no friends," Anna argued.

"Spoken like a true student of sarcasm," I told her.

"It's because I rule so much," Anna explained.

"Yeah, right, of course, Anna, you're too amazing for words," Sarcasm was dripping from every word.

"See! Sarcasm is the greatest form of arguing known to the world! No one can argue with sarcasm!" Anna declared.

"I'm so sure," I hated to admit to the fact that I was falling back on sarcasm to defend myself. The only real way to beat Anna in an argument was if she chose the completely wrong side of it and there was an obvious fact that could not be argued against or to become as deeply sarcastic as possible and hope for the best.

"Meh, who cares? I'm getting tired of sitting in the bathroom with the shower on, so I'm gonna leave you to yourself now," Anna decided.

"Well, see you later then," I told her, starting back towards the house and the warmth.

"Bye!" Anna called, then hung up.

I headed back inside and into my room, worrying now, more than ever, about what would happen now. I couldn't see how Anna was going to escape being arrested. She was renown on campus for being amazing at hacking, and, well, she had the most valid reason for wanting to hack into MI6.

And then, what about Lola? Everything might be alright now, but she'd made it clear that she didn't want us to become agents at CHERUB. What was going to happen when all of this was over? I didn't know what was going to happen, and, well, I really, _really _hate feeling like that.


	27. DetectiveInspectors Can Kill Sometimes

Hi again, sorry for taking so long (again) =) I was reading some books (ranger's apprentice 3 and the SKINJACKER TRILOGY! i love those books! one of my absolute all time favourites. if you're stuck for a book to read, try reading Everlost IT IS AMAZING! Ok, im gonna stop before I start overloading you with book babble)

So here's the next few

(ps. SatyrsUnite you should! I would read it!)

* * *

><p>Chapter 83~Anna<p>

So, as you can tell, by the next day, my nerves and paranoia had gone from normal-person level to terrorist-in-the-middle-of-airport-security. Or even worse; average-teenager-being-threatened-with-reading-a-book level. Or having-a-face-off-with-a-six-year-old-kid-ninja.

Now, back to the joyous day that the dreaded detectives arrived. I woke up bright and early (not) and felt refreshed and relaxed (double not) and didn't feel at all worried about today (triple not). I got dressed anyway, and headed downstairs, stopping by Dan's room.

Dan looked up from a mysterious looking bag of stuff and grinned at me from the doorway, "Eleven o'clock in the morning. Not too bad," He commented.

"Emma rang me at eleven last night!" I muttered defensively.

Dan shrugged, "Meryl finally gave us the go-ahead for our mission this morning. At two o'clock. In the morning. That woman has sleep issues,"

I nodded in agreement, "Definitely. Or maybe she just woke you up specially," I said teasingly.

Dan laughed slightly and dropped a few spare clothes into his bag and joined me in the doorway. I took his hand and we headed down the corridor.

"I take it you haven't had breakfast yet?" Dan asked as we went down the stairs.

"What time did you get up?" I retorted, "Five in the morning? I haven't eaten yet and I'm starving!"

Dan rolled his eyes, "Try eating something for dinner like you usually do, rather than going to bed hungry like you did last night then, moron,"

I bit my lip, not wanting to say anything too obvious to Dan. I hadn't told him about hacking into MI6. It wasn't that I couldn't trust him to keep a secret, it was just because... I didn't even know why! I just hadn't, that's all. And I hadn't been able to eat a thing last night I was so nervous about the investigator people. Which, as I have said previously, are coming today. They were probably already here!

I could feel butterflies in my stomach over it- I know, pathetic, right? What was the worst they could do? Lock me up in a cell for a couple of hours? I was a minor and there wasn't (unless they got their hands on my laptop or the memory stick) any proof or evidence of my guilt, so I could only be held against my will in jail for forty eight hours or something. My nerves regained the top space in my strongest feelings list, shoving my guilt over to one side. I'd tell Dan after he got back from his mission, however long it would take. Right now, it was better not to say anything that could be overheard.

I scooped myself up some pancakes with golden syrup and a bowl of fruit salad and picked a random table to sit at. Dan helped himself to my pancakes whilst I dug into my fruit salad with relish. I may have been as nervous as hell and I might not have been able to touch a thing last night, but I was _starving _right now, and, really, I didn't give a shit whether I could keep it down or not. At least it would discourage any people trying to interrogate me if I was puking all over them.

"So how long will you be gone on this mission thing again?" I mumbled through a mixture of strawberries, kiwi fruit, apple and grapes.

Dan looked at me, "There's this thing called table manners," He told me with a slight smirk.

I swallowed the mouthful, "I'm hungry and I don't pay attention to _normal _manners, so _why _are you telling me about this mysterious thing called table manners? Is the table supposed to talk to me about its day and make good conversation? Because so far, it's not doing a very good job,"

Dan sighed, shrugged and started on another pancake, "Dunno, maybe it's having a bad day or something," He suggested with amusement.

"Hello table," I began, "How's your day been so far?"

Nothing.

"No, seriously, I'm not mocking you. Are you having a bad day?" I asked it, trying to keep a curious and solemn tone.

I thought I was doing a good job until Dan burst out laughing, "You sound insane! You're talking to a table!"

"I realise that! But the table has feelings too!" I cried, then looked at the table, "Just ignore Dan, he's not right in the head. I think he was dropped a lot on it when he was a baby,"

"Hey!" Dan exclaimed, unsure whether to be offended or to keep on laughing.

Before we could continue with our weird but amusing conversation, I heard the telltale disdainful sniff of someone with a permanent cold.

"Some people are so weird! Who talks to tables!" Sandi exclaimed as she went by.

"Some people are even weirder," I retorted, not looking round, "I mean, seriously, who talks to air? Maybe they have imaginary friends to make up for the lack of real ones,"

Dan was looking decidedly awkward, and a bit irritated at Sandi. I'm pretty sure Sandi was glaring daggers at me from behind my back. I was using my awesome super powers of imagination to whack Sandi over the head repeatedly, like the violent child I am.

However, since Dan had finished my pancakes, and I'd finished the fruit salad, I decided to leave while Sandi's underused brain tried to figure out a comeback. I tilted my head towards the door, when Dan was watching me and raised an eyebrow.

Dan nodded and got up with me. We ditched the plates and went back upstairs. Dan checked his watch and swore, "I've only got a few more minutes before I've gotta go! And I need to finish packing!"

He pouted, trying to figure out what to do, and it struck me that he looked kinda cute when he was all grumpy looking. I shook the thought from my head quickly, not giving myself time to wonder where the heck that had come from.

I sighed, realising I would be deserted with Elizabeth, Liam, Andrew and Emma's friends for the next few days. At least I would have Karlie for some moral support. But I'd rather have just hung out with Dan, like usual.

"I guess you'll just have to chuck your stuff in and run, then," I told Dan lightly.

"What, no offer to help me out?" Dan asked, acting offended.

"Dan, its packing bags. I don't do packing bags," I reminded him. Not that he'd actually known before, to be honest...

Dan grinned at me, "Ok then, I guess I'll see you in a few days or something," He told me. He leaned in, kissed me on the cheek and dashed off up the stairs to his room.

I suppressed the gigantic smile that was trying to break out on my face, and shook my head with amusement. I stood there for a few minutes, staring into space, before Karlie jumped me from behind.

"Anna," She shoved into me, tripping but falling into a neat summersault and landing upright in front of me.

"When the hell did you learn to do that?" I demanded.

Karlie shrugged, "When I was six? Looong time ago. Anyway, I was wondering- are there supposed to be two menacing looking guys in long black coats stalking your corridor and debating whether or not to barge into your room? Because, seriously-"

I cut Karlie off, "What do you mean, to menacing looking guys?" I demanded, getting the feeling I knew _exactly _who these guys were.

Karlie shrugged, "Go see for yourself," She told me, waving a hand in the direction of the stairs, "I'm off to go to my extra geography lessons. They started about twenty minutes ago," She made a face and then sprinted off.

I watched her for a few seconds, ever so slightly stunned, then snapped back into action. I charged up the stairs and up to my corridor. It wasn't exactly hard to spot the stupidly long black overcoat thingies the detectives were wearing, so it took less than five seconds to spot them prowling around in front of my door. I pondered for a second over why the hell they were wearing coats inside, but gave up and marched straight past them and unlocked my room. Without sparing them a second look (or even, as far as they knew, a first) I went in and shut the door behind me, like the skilled anti-socialist I am.

Once in my room, I leaned over the bed, grabbed my memory stick from under the mattress and wondered where the hell I was going to hide it. I heard a knock at the door, and swore quietly under my breath. I should've hidden it some time yesterday, but, honestly, I really hadn't been bothered by it then. Eventually (well, really only a split second later) I decided to hide it in the light shade. It would be fine there. As long as no one decided to switch the light on... I leaped up and slipped my memory stick on top of the (conveniently square) light shade. My job done, I climbed down and opened the door.

"What do you want? 'Cos if you're trying to sell those mysterious looking overcoat things, no thanks. They're really conspicuous and everyone can see them from a mile off. Besides, I don't think black's really my colour. I don't think it's yours, either, but then, I'm not really all that fashiony. Ask Elizabeth, she'll know," I told the two of them.

There was a moment of slightly stunned, slightly confused and slightly offended silence, before detective-inspector dude numero uno spoke up, "Are you Anna Simons?"

I looked at him, "Are you Alvin the chipmunk?" Silence. "I'll take that as a no... Godzilla?" I asked hopefully. No reply, "Spiderman? Batman? Rumplewahteverhisnamewas? Nope, none of them, I'm guessing. OK, I'll try the other guy. Hmmmmm... I'm thinking... not Larry, no one's called that. Gary? Harry? Potter? Draco Malfoy? Nope... you don't look evil enough... Crabbe? Goyle? Ok, I'm clearly not guessing right... How about Dorris?" I suggested cheerfully.

Clearly, although both of them had been highly trained to face impossible situations, they'd never had the slightest bit of experience in how to handle a cheeky teenage girl who had no respect for them whatsoever. The dudes who ran MI6 _seriously _needed to rethink their training programme. These guys couldn't _actually _expect everyone to idolize them. I guess if they did, I was the first person to give them a reality check in a _long _time. It probably wouldn't be the best idea ever to antagonize someone who was investigating me, but I couldn't help it. This was going to be massive fun.

Or it would've been, if a third, slightly more clued in, detective arrived.

"My name is-"

"Dread," I slipped in, "Dreadlocks. Nice to meet you. I hope you're enjoying your time here,"

"Actually, my name is Orrin Heatly," The detective-inspector told me with false politeness, "And we're here to investigate you for any suspicious activities that went on the night before last, at o-" I cut him off before he started boring me.

"No, I prefer Dreadlocks. And anyways, spare me the lecture. I don't need to hear it. I wasn't anywhere near any electrical device- unless you count my light, my laptop, my... are showers electric?- whatever night it was. Besides, I think Doris and Alvin need a sit down. They're looking rather... upset? Shocked? Yeah, I get that sometimes. People tell me it's because I insult people. I prefer to say that I'm telling them in all honesty what I really think about them. You should try it sometime; it's really quite stress-relieving," I decided that if insults wouldn't get rid of him, I might as well babble for all I was worth. And insult him as well, just in case it did work.

"I'm sure it is, now, could you please confirm that you are indeed Anna Simons?" Orrin asked, dropping fake politeness (well, apart from the please) and adding in a rather cold and supposedly intimidating voice.

Clearly, he had not read my file. I've lived with a drunk off her head Mum, an imposing (and sometimes kinda terrifying) older sister, a demanding younger sister, a sometimes patronizing older brother and a Dad who had abolished rules and decided to teach me how to hack, before encouraging me to hack into police records and cancel the fine he'd gotten for a speeding ticket. Intimidation was not going to work on me, and if he thought that for a single second, he needed an even bigger reality check than the other two put together.

"Nope," I told them cheerfully.

"Can you prove you aren't?" Asked Orrin.

"No. Can you prove I'm not?" I retorted.

"What if I showed you a picture of what she looked like?" He inquired, acting all big and mighty, like he held the trump card.

"Oooh!" I squealed sarcastically, "Is it hand drawn or did you stalk her with a camera. By the looks of it, I'll go with the second option. Freaks," I could always pretend to be Emma, if they showed me a picture of myself. They probably hadn't stalk me long enough to know that Emma had blue-ish eyes and I had brown eyes and we were otherwise pretty much identical in looks.

Orrin showed me a picture of myself. It was one of those horrible fake school photo ones, where a woman makes you sit down and put your arm around your sister or something and look all –ugh- sisterly. It was a year two photo (the last one I'd actually put up with. After that I'd managed to find somewhere to hide mostly until it was over) so Arron was sitting in the middle and Emma was grinning to his left and I was scowling on his right. I was the despair of every school photographer who'd ever had the unfortunate luck to come across me.

"So... you're looking for a... what? Seven year old?" I asked, nodding mockingly, "I'm sure you'll find her eventually. In the meantime, the little kids block is out in that direction," I told Orrin, pointing to my left and down the corridor, "Don't been down hearted, every amateur makes a few mistakes. I'm sure you'll all be great detective-inspector dudes one day. Just not for a couple of decades, meanwhile," Ahhhh the joys of winding up people who couldn't hit you back.

* * *

><p>Chapter 84~Anna<p>

My glee was, unfortunately short lived- Orrin had gone to get the reinforcements of someone who deals with sarcastic, disrespectful teenagers on a daily basis. Orrin had gone to Meryl, and Meryl, after about five hours or so, had been brought along as reinforcement and to confirm that I was Anna Simons.

However, to my delight, I managed to use my lessons as an excuse to avoid the interview, claiming that the kids I was teaching needed all the help they could get. By the time I had finished lessons it was eight o'clock, and I decided to take my time eating and hanging out with Elizabeth so as to be armed full of knowledge on campus gossip. All part of my diabolical, nefarious master plan, of course.

It was nine o'clock by the time I'd arrived back at my room, more than a little amused to find Doris and Alvin on guard duty outside it. I told them that it was really creepy, slightly perverted and definitely stalker-ish for them to be waiting outside my room, and that cleared them off pretty quickly, leaving me in peace.

The peace lasted barely longer than my glee, since I couldn't keep up my avoidance tactics, and Meryl called me in for an interview at nine. I did my best to be late for it, and arrived somewhere between half past nine and quarter to ten. Needless to say, Meryl was cheesed off, Orrin peeved to all hell and Doris and Alvin, whose brains may have been all knowledgy, simply didn't appear to have enough cells to feel anger or annoyance, so settled on boredom. I felt sorry for their facial expressions- it must be seriously boring having to wear the same face all day every day. Then again, it was a break from a confused face anyway.

Either way, I'd arrived at a nice little interview room, with Orrin sitting with a little voice recorder thing, two chairs, a desk, and Meryl, Doris and Alvin leaning against the wall watching. Meryl look pretty grumpy, but I reckon that it was only because Orrin insisted he needed one of the chairs in the room to interview me, and I said that since I was wasting my time around here, I was having the other.

Orrin switched the recorder thing on and took in a deep breath, "Ok, Anna, I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them honestly, with as much detail as possible. You have the right to remain silent, and anything you _do _say will be-"

"Dude, I've heard that line a million times in movies, I know that I have the right to remain silent and that anything I say will be misquoted and then used against me," I shrugged, "But if you _seriously _want to continue, feel free, Mr Dread,"

Orrin glared, "I would appreciate it if you called me Inspector Heatly,"

"Yeah, you would appreciate it, but that ain't half as amusing as Dreadlocks, so you're just gonna have to stick with it," I told him, "Also, Mr Dread sounds so much more menacing than Inspector-detective-whatever Heatly. That's what you're trying to do, right? Intimidate me and all? With the crappy voice recorder, your possibly hired muscle; Fred and Alvin and this supposedly creepy interview room with only two desks, which is pathetic, really. I mean, whoever furniturized this room was being seriously selfish. What about everyone else in the room? Did they seriously think there would never be more than two people in a room? And has anyone heard of wallpaper, or maybe a vase of flowers? Heck, maybe a window too. Adds a nice atmosphere to the room, don't you think? Windows are awesome," Babbling is awesome simply because if you say everything really fast you get to confuse the heck out of everyone.

Orrin coughed, back to the subject, "On the-"

I cut him off again, "If you're gonna start telling me the date and time and all that crap, don't bother. I was alive then. Probably asleep, but I was alive, otherwise why the hell would you be interviewing me?"

Orrin pursed his lips, "Anna, where were you on the night- or morning, really- that MI6 was hacked?"

"MI6 was hacked?" I demanded, hoping I sounded the right bit surprised, and not too mocking, "I thought you guys were all technical genius'! Isn't the secret service supposed to have, like, high security shit stuff?"

Orrin, Alvin and Doris looked ever so slightly put out. Orrin, however, took my mockery to an advantage, "I notice you avoided my question completely. Not trying to hide anything, are you Anna?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, sure, I was up at God knows what time a couple of days ago hacking into MI6 like it was a stroll in the park. Yeah, right," I took a risk, "I'm technical, I know what shit you have protecting all your highly precious files, but it'd take for-freaking-ever to work out how the hell to get past all of it. I have a whole load of things I could be doing with my time, that are, frankly, twice as important as staring at a computer screen for yonks. Like, I don't know, talking to my friends, hacking the email accounts of people I don't particularly like, eating, sleeping, enduring punishments, training for BT, having a life in general," I tutted.

Orrin looked down at a sheet of notes I realised he'd been hiding on his lap, "But your Dad worked for MI6, didn't he? He could've shown you how to get past all of the security measures. And you certainly have more motivation than anyone else- it's likely that you've deduced that you were given only the vaguest of details on your father's disappearances and realised you could get more details from us directly,"

I looked him in the eye, "If a bunch of morons like you can't find my Dad after several months, what can a teenage girl- probably a quarter of your age, that doesn't technically exist, is unable to go off campus unsupervised and is basically penniless- do? Oh yes, great conclusion, she'll hack into MI6, magically find out exactly where her Dad is and find him before a single one of you morons. Yeah right, I'm not that naive," I replied scornfully.

I knew that finding my Dad was gonna be harder than that, but I was still gonna do it. I was just betting on Orrin interpreting my little speech as me saying that I thought him and his little MI6 buddies were morons and that I knew I didn't have a chance of finding my Dad.

Orrin changed tack, going from logical conclusions back to the simple facts he could rely on, "You're the best hacker on campus, Anna. No one else in anywhere near your standard. There is no one else on campus with the capability to pull of such a feat and you know it. So how could it not have been you,"

"You'd think that if I had done it, and I was so amazingly clever, I'd have known immediately that it would be me who was going to be blamed and not done it at all," I retorted with contempt.

"Maybe you were betting on not being caught," Orrin shot at me.

"Maybe you're not as moronic as you seem," I shrugged with fake innocence, "Who knows?"

"Anna, there is only one person on the whole of this campus hat could've done it, and that's you," Orrin basically repeated.

"As flattering as that is, I somehow doubt it. I'm fifteen- since about a week ago. There are some adults who have been hacking shit all their lives, and at least a few seventeen or eighteen year olds with around the same capability. I'm just more amazing than them to you because I'm several years younger,"

"Yet, before you even knew about CHERUB, you managed to hack Meryl's personal details," Orrin pointed out.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're gonna read me my own life story," I told him, "If you want to know, I hacked into my school's website a couple of times, the police once or twice, school and local library about a million times, my next door neighbours internet too many times to count, Meryl's shit once and probably a hundred different email addresses once or twice. They were people I didn't like, of course. There are more places I've hacked; I just can't be fucked to remember them,"

There was a brief silence as Orrin digested that- probably wasn't too shocked over it, I think he was more digesting his own defeat since he _had _to know by now that it was me and that there was no way I was ever going to admit to it- then Meryl stood up.

"Ok, I think you've asked all the questions you need, Inspector Heatly," She said in an ordering voice, "And I don't think there is much more to say for now anyway,"

I stood up and stretched, "See you guys later," I waved cheerfully at Meryl, Doris and Alvin, then turned stood straight and saluted, "Inspector Dread," I told him with mock solemnity, then spun around and headed off.


	28. Never Underetsimate A Household Object

Chapter 85

It was around half six in the evening when Dan looked up to see John in the doorway saying something. He pulled his earphones out, switched off his IPod and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"The house is completely empty- for once," John told Dan, "No one's in, but I don't know how long they'll all be out,"

Dan leapt up immediately, and started after John. The two of them deserted the small cottage they'd arrived at yesterday and jogged lightly up a hill for less than three minutes. John had made sure Dan knew exactly what to do the second they'd arrived. Apparently, the whole not knowing how long people had was a serious issue and Dan was supposed to treat every minute he was in 'hostile territory' like he had seconds before he would be discovered. Which sounded massively exaggerated and completely paranoid. Hence why Dan decided that sprinting was not necessary and that a simple jog would suffice.

Halfway down the other side of the hill sat the house, and John set off immediately, Dan following, more cautious about slipping over than John seemed to be.

"We have at least twenty minutes, John!" Dan hissed, "It takes them that long to reach the end of the valley and get to a main road. Chances are they've gone to shop for food or whatever. Buy vegetables and all that. That'll take about another thirty minutes at least, leaving us with forty minutes overall to look around,"

They reached the house and John leaned over the lock, picking it.

"It took me five minutes to ascertain that they had gone and ten for me to make sure they were far enough down the valley road not to see us coming, then five minutes for us to get down here. It'll take us at least another five minutes to get out of the way and out of sight, but they could see us running away from halfway up the valley, so ten minutes of that gone. Overall, that gives us fifteen minutes, and if they've got a lot of paperwork, or there is some unknown factor that we haven't been able to identify then that is not at all enough time!" John retorted as quietly as possible, just as he finished picking the lock on the door.

The two of them eased cautiously inside, shutting the door with only a quiet click, before creeping silently along the hallway. First of all, they silently checked all of the rooms. Once they were certain that they were along, John pushed Dan in the direction of the room that vaguely resembled a meeting room. They got started on looking through the papers.

"So where did everyone go then? And did they all go together?" Dan asked conversationally.

"No, the boy stormed out of the house first, heading up the hills in the opposite direction of us. Two of the men set off early this morning. The same two that set off early and arrived back late yesterday," John told Dan, "Two of the men set off together in one car, and about five minutes later, the other car followed,"

Dan nodded, not really paying much attention; too busy trying to absorb all the paperwork and try to find something useful. Not too busy, though, to hear a click as the front door opened again. John and Dan immediately froze, trying to put down the papers in their hands and find somewhere to hide.

"I know you're in there!" A high-pitched, clearly-scared-but-acting-tough voice yelled, "I'm armed and I'm not afraid to shoot! Come out into the corridor where I can see you!"

And Dan realised who it was. Jeremy! He groaned inside. Did that stupid moron have to turn up and cause every mission he had to go awry? Worse still, the twerp knew about CHERUB, and he could've told absolutely anyone one the planet about it. Not that anyone would feel inclined to believe him unless they saw some form of evidence.

Dan glanced at John questioningly, and John nodded his head towards the door. The two of them ducked out of the room slowly. Dan felt ever so slightly sheepish as he did so, and tried not to look it.

"You!" Jeremy scowled as soon as he saw Dan.

"You," Dan replied sarcastically.

"You know him?" John hissed in his ear.

"He's John Smith's son. He kidnapped Anna and Arron. I've had the misfortune to see his ugly face before," Dan told John, not bothering to lower his voice.

Jeremy stepped forward furiously, and Dan realised suddenly that he wasn't holding anything and didn't appear to be armed in any way, "You don't have a gun!" Dan exclaimed, feeling angry at having fallen for what Jeremy said, and scorn, because, seriously, unless you're being robbed, who pretends to have a weapon they don't.

Admittedly, quite a lot of people, actually, Dan thought. And realised that, to Jeremy, it probably had looked like the place was being robbed.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy snapped, trying to change the subject while he still had the upper hand.

"We thought we'd drop by for the afternoon and have tea and scones, but no one was around," Dan shrugged, "Maybe next time,"

"How did you even know we were here! This is a top secret... hiding place!" Jeremy snapped.

"Right. It wasn't actually all that hard to find, you realise," Dan told the other boy scornfully. It had actually been almost impossible to find, even with the grid reference crap they'd dredged up from MI6.

John elbowed him subtly, "We're wasting time here," He muttered pointedly at Dan.

"Where did the other people staying here go?" Dan demanded, striding forward threateningly.

Jeremy backed off and dived into a room on his right. Dan and John followed him in and found a small room with three sofas squished in around a small glass table, and a TV hanging on the wall. Jeremy was already throwing stuff at them.

"They'll be back in less than five minutes!" He yelled at them, whilst chucking a cushion from the sofa. Dan ducked and John batted the pillow away, seeming to feel it wasn't even worth the energy it would take to duck.

"This was all a big trap to... to trap you!" Jeremy blustered, picking up the TV remote and lobbing it at Dan's head, following the throw up with several cushions.

Dan dodged the remote, left John being attacked by cushions and advanced on Jeremy, who had successfully cleared the sofas of cushions and was now throwing random objects from the table at him.

A pen hit him in the forehead, swiftly followed by a pizza box. Dan cussed, but batted away the block of sticky notes Jeremy aimed at him next. Which wasn't really a clever idea, since large amounts of sticky notes _hurt. _Next up on the list of weapons at Jeremy's disposal was a vase full of flowers. Dan almost didn't avoid it in time because he was too busy wondering why the hell five men and a boy would ever want a vase of flowers in their house.

Jeremy finally cleared the table and realised there was nothing left for him to chuck at Dan. John was still valiantly fighting his way out from underneath several cushions and all the stuff Dan had managed to avoid- vase, which had unfortunately smashed all over him, included.

What Dan had totally not expected, of course, was for Jeremy to scoop up the glass table and throw it at him. Which is, as you can tell, exactly what happened.

"Shit," Dan cursed as Jeremy heaved up the glass table and tried to get it into a decent throwing position, "You're freaking insane! Tell me you are seriously not planning to lob a possibly deadly glass table at me,"

Jeremy didn't bother telling him anything- he just threw it. Dan dived over the sofa, slipping down behind it (although somehow still managing to hit his head, both elbows, one knee and his left foot on the wall behind the sofa). The table smashed into the wall a few metres away. Most of the glass missed him, but he got several cuts on his face and arms. Fortunately enough in some cases, John was still being buried alive by pillows, so he escaped the glass.

Dan jumped up again, trying not to cut himself on the various shards of glass again, and caught Jeremy running from the room. Slipping on various pieces of glass, he ran after Jeremy, hesitating only momentarily to see if John needed help. He didn't.

Dan caught up with Jeremy barely five seconds later. The boy was running through the kitchen towards the back door. Dan looked around and grabbed a saucepan off the tabletop, the remnants of the morning's breakfast (bacon, fried eggs, tomato and mushrooms) sliding onto the floor. Half of a fried egg landed on Dan's shoulder as he hefted it up, much to his disgust.

Ignoring the food, Dan leaped forward and smacked Jeremy over the head with it. Jeremy crumpled, cowering, arms over his head.

"What the hell did you do that for?" He yelled at Dan through his arms.

"Why the hell did you throw a _glass table_at me?" Dan retorted at the same volume.

"You broke into my house!" Jeremy's defensive scream was somewhere between fear and anger.

"You helped kidnap Anna!" Dan just sounded angry. He paused, "Speaking of," He said in a lower town, "_That _is for kidnapping Anna and Arron," He told Jeremy, whacking him twice as hard as before on the arms.

Jeremy shrieked in pain, and tried to kick Dan. Dan squatted down until his face was right in front of Jeremy, "Where did the other men go?" He asked quietly, trying to sound threatening.

It apparently worked, because Jeremy immediately blurted out, "I don't know! Some stupid crappy meeting for the break in! They wouldn't let me come with them because I'm not allowed to be part of the break in and they're not coming back until after the break in, tomorrow!" He squealed.

Dan sat back slightly, "Well that was easy," He turned around and yelled back down the corridor, "John? They're breaking into the prison tomorrow,"

There was a muffled swearword.

"What do we do about Jeremy?" Dan asked, in a quieter voice, as he saw John limping down the corridor.

"Is anyone else here, will anyone come to check on you before tomorrow?" John asked a still cowering Jeremy.

Jeremy looked up at him sullenly. Dan lifted the saucepan into his view again, and Jeremy immediately exclaimed, "No! I'm supposed to phone if anything bad happens!"

"Dan, find all the phones you can and make sure they're completely unusable," John told him.

Dan got up and left The saucepan with John, before heading out to search the rest of the house. While he did this, he tried to pull the various items of food out of his hair and off his clothes and face. He wasn't usually into violence and hitting people to make them do something, like he had with Jeremy, but the stupid moron had deserved it, after all. He'd kidnapped Anna and Arron, so a couple of whacks with a pan wasn't exactly an unfair punishment.

The search of the house took less than five minutes, and Dan reappeared with three trashed mobiles and a trashed home phone. Unless Jeremy had a secret room, or a safe hidden behind a portrait in one of the rooms, it was highly unlikely that there were any other phones around.

John and Jeremy were both in the same positions as before, but as Dan walked back in and chucked the phones in the bin, they both looked up.

"There were three mobiles and a home phone according to Jeremy," John told Dan.

Dan nodded, "I got them all,"

John looked down at Jeremy, then headed for the front door, "Come on then. We've got some important information to report back,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 86<p>

They left Jeremy cowering in the house and set off up the hill again, then down the other side. Arriving back at the house John immediately started packing things into bags. He checked his mobile phone continuously as he did so.

"I've got no signal on my mobile, there's no internet or home phone here either," John sighed as he finished packing up the food, "We'll have to wait until we've got decent signal before we can tell them what's happening,"

Dan nodded vaguely, "I'm gonna take a shower. I stink of fried egg and tomato,"

John looked up, "We've got to go now, Dan,"

"I stink, and it's a several hour car journey back. We're both covered in several cuts and scratches that should probably at least be looked at, and I'm starving. We can wait half an hour, for crying out loud," Dan reasoned.

"What if Jeremy finds us here?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.

"John, I am not sitting in a car for God knows how long stinking of fried egg and tomato. End. Of," Dan stood his ground, even though he knew it sounded petty and slightly girly. But mainly, he was just worried that a long car journey smelling of food would drive him mad.

"A compromise then, you shower and I'll sort out my cuts, you sort out your cuts in the car while I drive and we'll have a drive through meal somewhere," John offered.

"Deal!" Dan called, racing off to the shower.

Ten minutes later, Dan emerged back into the kitchen with a clean top and joggers on, a small rucksack with all the stuff he'd brought with him on his back, "We ready to go then?" He asked.

John was sitting nursing a cup of tea. He stood up and nodded, pouring out the rest of his tea in the sink, rinsing out the mug and placing it on the draining board. He scooped up a pair of keys and gestured for Dan to go out of the door first. John locked the door behind them, and left the keys where they'd found them- underneath an innocent looking flower pot halfway down the drive.

The two of them climbed into the car, Dan tossing his rucksack across the back seat and both doors slammed shut. They set off down the valley at a quicker-than-legal speed. Dan found the first aid bag thing they had in the side pocket of the car door. He opened it and fished around for some plasters, having washed the cuts as best he could when he was in the shower.

"I'm gonna feel like a right freak walking around campus covered in plasters," He muttered to himself as he finally located a box of- for no apparent reason- blue plasters.

There were only three cuts that Dan deemed bad enough to earn a plaster, one on his left arm and two on his right. His face only had very small, pathetic looking scratches. The type of scratches that are so small you can barely see them, but still sting like hell, so you just look like a right wuss in front of everyone if you complain.

After applying the plasters, Dan put the first aid kit away and settled back in his seat for the long ride back to campus.

When they finally arrived, it was almost ten o'clock, since they'd stopped off at a service station on the motorway to grab some food on the way. Dan climbed stiffly out of the car, only now starting to feel the first of the bruises he'd required in his epic battle with Jeremy. He was sure John had gotten it worse, though- he was sporting a black eye and had a serious looking cut on one hand and another on his cheek.

Never, Dan thought to himself, underestimate the power of ordinary household objects. It could be a deadly mistake.

Wearily, he picked up his rucksack, waved some sort of goodbye at John and headed over to the main building and up the stairs to his room. Once inside he dunked his bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed. It might only have been around ten o'clock, but fighting epic battles against TV remotes, cushions and a block of sticky notes was tiring.

Dan blinked awake the next morning and rolled over, glaring blearily at the clock, to see that it was half nine. He'd slept for around eleven hours, which only made him feel twice as stiff and his bruises feel doubly sore. Dan groaned and pulled himself out of bed, getting changed into fresh clothes and wondering what the heck he was going to do today.

He decided on seeing Anna first, since she wasn't too far away and would be, he predicted, still asleep right now. He was right.

"Go away! I'm sleeping. Wake me up at a saner time," Anna grumbled into her pillow, flapping her hand blindly in his direction, trying to hit him.

"It's half nine, Anna, in normal people land, that's a sane time," Dan told her, prodding her arm.

Anna wriggled further under her duvet.

"Tell normal people land to piss off. It's unwanted and unloved. No one likes normal people land," Came the muffled reply.

Dan grinned, changing tack, "What? No 'welcome back, Dan' or 'I've missed you so much, Dan!'?"

Anna pulled her head off the pillow, gave Dan a brief, half-hearted hug then pulled her cover back over her head, "Welcome back, hope you have a good life. I missed you yada yada yada,"

Dan could tell Anna was having one of her may-seem-awake-but-brain-has-not-yet-turned-on mornings, and decided to take advantage.

"Can I go on our laptop, then?" He asked mischievously.

"Yes! Whatever, just go away!" Anna moaned.

"I need the password for it, though," Dan sighed, and waited to see Anna's reaction.

There were several moments of silence, and then Anna sat up, slowly and groggily, and glared at him, "No,"

Dan grinned cheekily, "I was so close that time!"

Anna yawned ran her hand through her hair, "Ok, get out Dan. I want half an hour to sleep in and then maybe I'll consider talking to you," She told him.

Dan mock saluted her and got out before even more ordinary household objects- like the cushion Anna was currently threatening him with- attacked him.

* * *

><p>Chapter 87~Anna<p>

I was talking with Dan and Karlie- having, considerably later than promised, gotten up- on the way down to lunch, when Dreadlocks finally caught up with me.

"You're under arrest, Anna Simons," He told me stepping in front of me so I couldn't keep on walking and ignore him.

"That's nice," I told him vaguely, trying to step around him.

Doris and Alvin turned up with a pair of handcuffs.

"Oh, jeez, your seriously gonna handcuff a fifteen year old girl?" I asked mockingly, "No, wait, a fifteen year old, _innocent _girl, without any evidence to prove she's guilty,"

"You are the only one on campus with the ability to hack into MI6, and the only one with a reason for doing so. It is the most logical explanation that you are the one who hacked into MI6," Dreadlocks snapped.

"_Logic,_" I told him, emphasising the word, "Is not evidence. You can't arrest me without charge or whatever it's called,"

"Yes, we can, we are only allowed to keep you in jail for twenty four hours. However if we ask permission and twist a few arms, we could hold you for up to ninety six hours," Alvin piped up.

"Well," I tried to think up another excuse. My clearly amazing brain cells showed my true genius in that moment; "I didn't do it though!" Uh huh, I am _so _clever.

"Yeah, she wouldn't hack into MI6," Karlie butted in defensively.

"She's got the goody two shoes persona down to a T," Dan joined in, somewhat more sarcastic than Karlie.

I elbowed him with the supreme skill of someone as brilliantly unsubtle as I am. Dan and Karlie tried not to laugh, obviously torn between laughter and the seriousness of the situation.

"Anyway," I continued, a halfway decent excuse forming in my brain, "I'm allergic to bars, locked doors, chains and anything confiney," Ok. It was a crap excuse. But you never know, right?

"I highly doubt that," Orrin said scornfully.

Well... damn it...

"Um... I'm pretty sure that because I'm under eighteen- or is it seventeen?- I need, like, a legal guardian of some sort with me. And my Mum's in America and my Dad's missing, so you know, we're pretty screwed here,"

"If you were going to a police jail, yes, you probably would," Orrin agreed cheerfully.

I suppose he was probably getting vengeance for the way I'd treated him previously. Maybe I deserved that. But I wasn't gonna regret doing it still.

"So then, if I'm not going to 'a police jail'," I started, "I take it I'm allowed to stay here and you guys are gonna stop stalking me?"

"We're taking you to an anonymous MI6 headquarters. There are holding cells there," Doris replied.

"Great to know, however, you should know, I have... um... asthma!" I told them, "And my inhalers still in my room!"

Orrin looked at me for a second, gauging how much truth there was in what I was saying, then gestured for me to go back and get it, starting after me. I rolled my eyes and cursed my luck at not being able to escape, then set off for my room. I shut the door in Orrin's face momentarily, and grabbed my phone, sliding it into an inside pocket and hoping I wouldn't be searched on my way into MI6. I opened my door again and beamed into the suspicious faces of the three detectives and the somewhat curious faces of Dan and Karlie.

Alvin glared at me, "There wasn't anything about asthma in your records,"

I looked at them, hoping they wouldn't see my pathetically awesome attempt at a bluff, "Do they mention that I had a pet called Hamster, I have severe attitude problems and that my middle names are Victoria Eileen Suzuki Honda Civic Bob... etta in your 'records'"

"Bobetta?" Dan hissed in my ear incredulously.

I shrugged, "Bob's a guy's name. And besides, it's better than Larry. _Almost _no one is called Larry,"

"Yeah, before it used to be no one, but then Larry Summers arrived and Anna was proved wrong," Karlie grinned evily at me.

I glared at her, "I repeat _almost _no one is called Larry,"

"Ok, let's start again," Orrin sighed, "Anna you're under arrest, if you don't come quietly we will have to handcuff you,"

"Wow. Threatening. Seriously. I will be subjected to mass public humiliation if I do anything other than 'come quietly'," I told him dryly, "Maybe I should just go kicking and screaming. Add a bit of swearing in here and there. By the way, I'm pretty sure an adult of some sort of responsibility should know I'm being arrested, even if they don't need to go with me to your mysterious headquarters," I added.

"We will inform Mac as soon as we can. In the mean time, I don't think they're really going to notice that you've disappeared for half a day," Doris announced, sounding more clever than his range of facial expressions gave him credit for.

"Well, you never know," I told them brightly, glaring meaningfully at Karlie and Dan.

The two of them beamed at the detective-inspectors in that innocent they-are-so-up-to-something way and started backing off, "We'll see you later, Anna," Karlie called as she raced off.

Dan looked at me seriously, "Take care of yourself and don't be a moron, ok?"

I rolled my eyes, "My middle name- along with Victoria, Eileen Suzuki Honda Civic Bobetta- is moron. I think I'm gonna struggle a bit with that," I said sarcastically.

"Dan, come on!" Karlie yelled.

Dan shrugged at me apologetically and sprinted off after Karlie, leaving me with the I-Ds of doom. Wait no, of _impending _doom.

MI6 was shabbier than I had thought it would be, admittedly, I realised as I arrived. I had imagined it was all orderly and neat and tidy and new and... Non-messy, shabby or otherwise. Apparently not, though. I was lead through a series of carpeted- and I seriously had thought the floor would be tiled or something. I was getting quite let down today- corridors, past several offices with worn looking chairs placed outside them, some occupied, others not, and little baskets full of paperwork were hanging on each office door.

I eventually reached my destination- a big room somewhere underneath the building that had several rooms leading off it. The doors to each room were only a set of bars and a lock, so it was, essentially, just one room with several almost-rooms leading off from it.

Orrin opened the first one along and gestured for me to go in. I looked at him and rolled my eyes, stepping widely around him and inside my lovely-but-definitely-temporary prison cell, "So gentlemanly," I told Orrin sarcastically as I passed.

Orrin looked at me, "You've caused us quite a bit of trouble young lady- we wanted you behind bars yesterday. There's enough going on today without having to deal with the extra trouble of bringing you in. And the way we're planning it, you're lucky to get a cell to yourself,"

I raised my eyebrows suspiciously, but tried to minimize my interest by keeping my face mocking, "Something happening today then?" I asked.

"None of your business, really," Orrin told me, before shutting and locking the door behind me.

I gave him a sarcastic wave and yelled after him, "I hope falsely accusing and imprisoning an innocent little girl doesn't ruin your future career permanently!"

I heard him shutting the door out of the main (was it main?) room and scowled, looking around my little cell. There was a bed in one corner and a small room off to one side which I figured was the toilet. Brilliant. This place looked more than extremely boring. It looked dull in every freaking way possible. I patted my pocket and grinned as I felt the bump where my phone was. I moved over to the door and peered out as best as I could, trying to see if there was anyone else around.

"Hello?" I called out after a minute.

No reply. If there was some sort of emergency there had bloody better be someone around to open the damned door.

In the meantime, it was convenient enough that no one was around, since I needed to text Arron. They were breaking in today. I flipped open my phone and texted Arron;

_Hi. Not supposed to have phone right now so don't ring me. The prison break in is today. __Please __go investigate! At least try and see what's going on up there. MI6 is definitely up to something. Anna =)_

A few seconds later he texted back;

_**If I get into trouble for this I'll kill you. I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this! And if I get arrested by the police for some reason, you're paying the bail-thingie! Arron -_-**_

I smiled slightly; _But what if you mindlessly vandalise something and get arrested? That's hardly my fault!_

_**Tough**_

_Love you Arron =)_

_**... No comment...**_

_=D_

_**Alright, alright, I'm going! Bye**_

_Byyyeeeeeee_

I switched my phone off and slipped it in my pockets, lying down on my bed and staring up at the ceiling feeling bored already. I should've bought crayons or something, and drawn all over the walls, just to piss off everyone.

Then I heard the door to the main room open again, and footsteps. I looked out of the door to see a woman walking along. She saw me looking at her and smiled, "I suppose you're the hacker then. We were expecting you here yesterday, and Orrin's investigations are rarely delayed,"

Dark and sinister much? I shrugged, "I owe it all to avoidance tactics and my awesomeness,"

The woman's smile grew slightly as she continued down the corridor again.

"Who are you, anyways?" Shouted after her, still lying on the bed.

"I'm your jailer, I suppose, but this unit of MI6 is so stretched today, what with all the agents out on this big mission, that I'm helping out with basic security elsewhere too," The woman called back, "I'll be over here every half an hour, so don't get into too much mischief!"

I heard a door at the other end of the room opening then closing again, and I was left to my own devices once more.

I got up and paced my little room, backwards and forwards, already feeling bored after barely ten minutes. The whole thing was already starting to feel unbearably like the whole kidnapping shit. Locked in a room. Bored out of my mind.

At least this time I had a bed, my phone, decent lighting, a cleaner environment and a toilet. On the downside, rather than having Arron as constant company, I had the every half hour, very brief, possibly not to be repeated conversations of someone I barely knew. Joy of joys. I supposed I could always talk to my brain, but I'd only just broken out of that habit, because, apparently, normal people don't do shit like talk to the brain. It seriously makes me wonder what the hell they think they're doing when they're thinking to themselves!

After another five minutes I was on my phone trying to beat my high score on pacman- the only decent game on the entirety of my phone.


	29. Just Like Old Times

Happy new year everyone! =D

* * *

><p>Chapter 88<p>

Dan and Karlie burst into Mac's office, having successfully evaded a yelling secretary and the several members of staff she'd caught the attention of.

"He's in a meeting and is not to be disturbed!" She shrieked after them.

Mac and Meryl looked up from the computer in the corner, where Dan could see Peter Kenedy's worried face trying on the screen. He guessed that security around campus was now so tight that Peter had resorted to webcam. Although why he needed to talk to them Dan didn't know. The mission was over, Anna had hacked MI6, so what else was their to talk about really?

"They're trying to arrest Anna!" Karlie yelled as she skidded to a halt in the middle of the room. She looked at the person on the computer screen and raised an eyebrow, "Great meeting set up thing, but you need a bigger screen to get the rich businessman effect,"

Mac stood up, along with Meryl, "Have you two ever heard of knocking?" He asked crossly.

"Have you three heard that Anna is being arrested- without charge or evidence- right now!" Dan retorted.

"Yeah, and whose your computer buddy?" Karlie demanded.

Mac glanced back at the computer, "You never saw that," He warned Karlie, who shrugged.

"Fine, if you say so,"

"Um... Aren't you going to do something about Anna?" Dan butted in, "Isn't there some kind of way of making a deal with those guys about her arrest?"

Meryl shook her head, "They have a legal right to, and one of us can't even go with her if she's categorized as 'highly dangerous'. Unfortunately, MI6 counts 'able to hack into highly sensitive and massively important data' as 'highly dangerous',"

"So... We're just gonna let them arrest her?" Karlie asked, disgusted.

Mac shrugged sadly, "We can't openly oppose them- it would make us suspicious and what little influence we might have with them would be gone,"

Peter cleared his throat, and everyone jumped in surprise, having almost completely forgotten he'd been there- well... Kinda there... Technically he wasn't... Or was it technically he was? He was, after all, using technology to talk to them.

"They're taking her hear. Francis may have something to do with that, but at least it means I can keep an eye on her without causing suspicion- I am her Godfather, after all," He shrugged, "I'll see what I can do from my end,"

Mac and Meryl nodded appreciatively whilst Karlie turned, completely lost, to shoot a questioning look at Dan.

"Anna's Dad and Peter- the guy on the screen- were work partners and good friends," Dan shrugged.

"Great, so we've got a non blood-related family member to help us out and a tin amount of influence over MI6. Great," Karlie muttered, "Anna's screwed,"

* * *

><p>Arron was lucky enough that he only had one lesson this afternoon- although he wasn't going to admit that to Anna- so he wasn't really missing out on too much work. He had decided against going home sick because he sucked at acting and it was highly unlikely that his school would send him home unless he had the plague. He had also decided against signing out of school since, if he did then he would definitely get into trouble. However, if it was only noted that he'd missed one lesson, he would get told off by the individual teacher and no one would have a clue that he'd skived the afternoon.<p>

He'd probably miss lunch though, which made this skiving thing all the worse because they were serving steak pie and chips for lunch today and he didn't have any spare change on him to buy food from any of the local shops. Anna so owed him for this.

Arron slipped out of school the back way, completely- he hoped- unnoticed, and set off in the general direction of Manchester prison.

He arrived some time later, only just in time to see a van of some sort driving through the prison gates, a hundred metres ahead of him. Arron kept as close as he could to the cars around him- since there were pretty much no buildings anywhere near. He remembered what Anna had said about MI6. He didn't particularly want to be caught up between two groups of probably armed, probably dangerous people.

Up ahead, he saw another van- white, no writing/advertising stuff on the sides, no windows in the back- pull up, and about ten armed men leaped out of the back. Arron ducked further behind the car in front of him. He was going to _kill _Anna.

Getting his courage up, Arron crawled around to the end of the car and pocked his head slightly out from behind it. A man had gotten out of the front of the van and was now issuing orders at everyone else and looking very important. Another van pulled up with several more men in it, and the important man started ordering them about too, looking very annoyed and not at all happy. Arron could only just make out what was being said.

"We're running behind schedule. We only have a few minutes before Dasakota arrives, we need to get John Smith out of here and back to the nearest MI6 base before Dasakota realises that they're being tricked! You lot!" He pointed at one of the groups, "Get the hell in there and get Smith out! You lot! You're not supposed to be here yet! Get the hell back in that van and wait until you see Dasakota coming or give us the signal! Your orders were clear! Wait until Dasakota broke into the prison then round them up and lock them away until backup came!"

The second group seemed almost sheepish as they climbed back into the van and it pulled away again. Arron looked on at all this in bemusement. He stayed where he was for a few more minutes, but concluded that at this very moment in time, there wasn't much else to see. There was next to no one about, and of those, no one was looking in his direction, so Arron decided that he should get a bit closer, or at least a more comfortable position, so that he could see better.

He crawled silently beside the car until he was as close to the edge of it as he could rick without being spotted, then scrambled across the gap between the car he was behind and the car next to it. Hoping he hadn't been noticed, he waited a second, holding his breath so that he could hear if someone was saying something better. No one was yelling or shouting, so he presumed he was safe.

Onto the next car then, Arron thought to himself, and started crawling again. He was going to have to stop agreeing to go on little missions for Anna. The one a few days ago, that stupid meeting thing, had been a _complete _waste of time. He hadn't found out anything, and had missed half his lessons! He reached the end of the car and crouched, listening. He peeked carefully around the edge of the car, and decided it was safe enough to sprint to the next car.

Arron had only just collapsed behind the next car along when he heard a shout go up, and several people yelling and running in his direction. He cursed several times under his breath, and dared a quick glance to see if they knew exactly where he was. Since there three or four of them all running to the exact spot he was sitting on, he guessed they did.

"And this is the part," He muttered, as he lay down flat on the ground and shuffled under the car, hoping half-heartedly that it might in some way help his situation, "Where I regret not going to karate classes with my little sisters and realise I should've at least figured out how to take a punch, because now, I am eternally screwed,"

He heard the footsteps stop a few meters away and tried not to breathe so loud. Then he heard several clicks that sounded suspiciously like those in the movies where the actors start fiddling with the guns and are about to fire- Arron wasn't good at all with technical terms. He froze completely, silently cursing Anna to hell.

"Show yourself!" Someone yelled.

Arron winced, trying to weigh up the odds of being caught. He didn't make the decision in the end, though- a hand grabbed his arm and dragged him out from under the car, hauling him up.

"Ow!" Arron cried out, as he was twisted around and his arm was caught up in a vicious arm lock, "Jesus Christ! No need to kill me!"

"Why are you here?" Someone demanded.

"I- I got bored, ok? I skived off school and ended up here!" Arron lied. He couldn't exactly say that his Dad worked for MI6 and was missing, and that one of his sisters, who technically didn't exist, had told him to go spy on everyone here today, could he?

"We can't risk that he didn't overhear something. Take him back to MI6. Lock him up until this whole operation is over," Another voice sighed, "You can take him back with Smith,"

Arron froze. _Take him back to MI6_? Crap. Anna was _so _dead, when he got out.

* * *

><p>Chapter 89~Anna<p>

I looked up as the shuffling of feet went past my cell door again.

"Hi again. Having fun?"

"No," I sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose it is a bit boring in there,"

"You think?" I didn't bother to look up- she'd already have passed my door.

"Oh well," The woman sighed, her voice getting further away, "until next time!"

"Bye,"

I heard a door open and shut, then nothing. Well, this was going to be an entertaining stay then. I attempted whistling for five minutes, but, clearly, my whistling talent was deeply buried. I couldn't sing. I hated humming. There wasn't really a lot to do apart from that, and figure out the meaning of life. Which is complete bullshit, so I was eternally screwed.

I was limiting myself with my phone- sound off, brightness at its lowest setting, using it once every three times the woman went past, all that shit- but it had only been half charged when I'd had it this morning, so my only form of entertainment would soon be waving me goodbye too. Brilliant.

I was about to give up and try sleeping when I heard a load of people marching down the corridor and a door swing open. I jumped up, peeking out of the bars, trying to see who it was. It definitely hadn't been half an hour yet. Unless I _had _managed to magically fall asleep. Which I doubted. Highly.

The woman wasn't there- only about eight men with guns and all that shit, and to my shock and possible (in fact, no, I did _not_ feel that) horror; _Bob_. Christ. I was eternally screwed. Forever. I was locked in a highly secure jail place with Bob in a cell next to me. Four of the eight men dragged Bob past my cell, and I heard a cell door like mine being opened and then slammed shut again after a few seconds.

"Anna? What the hell are you doing here?"

I spun back see the other four men-with-guns holding Arron. I'd been so busy concentrating on Bob that I hadn't spotted him. It was an easy mistake though, since he was smaller than every single man-with-gun and they were kinda in the way at the moment in time when I looked in his direction.

"Forget that! What the hell are _you _doing here?" I demanded.

"You two know each other?" A guy-with-a-gun demanded.

Arron and I shared a glance, wondering how much we should tell them exactly- it never hurts to know just a tiny bit more than they do!

The guy-with-gun ignored us, "Well, I suppose you won't mind sharing a cell then? We need all the others and I don't want to use up any cells that we could have spare,"

He opened the door and shoved Arron in, before pulling it shut and locking it again, "Enjoy your stay!" He cackled.

"Yeah, enjoy your now considerably shorter fucking life, you twat!" I yelled after him, as I heard the door shut.

Arron looked at me, "_Really_, Anna?"

I shrugged, "I know, immature, but still! They deserved it. So I'm guessing they picked you up outside the prison then?"

"I am going to kill you, when we get out of this mess, by the way, Anna," Arron glared at me.

I gave him a guilty look, "Sorry,"

Arron shook his head, frustrated, "It doesn't matter now. Why the hell are you here though?" He paused, then, "You didn't-"

"I've been brought here without charge. They haven't got any evidence of anything," I interrupted meaningfully. Hoping he'd read between the lines to; say anything and they'll count it towards evidence.

Arron gave me a look, "No one is here, Anna, apart from- what did you call him again? Bob. No one is here apart from Bob,"

"Dude, have you heard of the word listening device. No you haven't. Its two words not one... Damn..." I muttered, then looked at him, "What did you find out at the prison anyway?"

"You just told me there could be listening devices in this room and now you're asking me to tell you what happened at the prison?" Arron asked incredulously.

I sighed, "You know, this is a lot the same as last time, now that you're here. Locked away in a room and arguing,"

Arron sighed too, "Yeah. I mean, why couldn't I have been locked up with one of the less annoying siblings? Why is it you? Twice?"

I laughed, "You must have done something really bad in your past lives to deserve this, Arron,"

Arron smiled and looked away, "MI6, they think that Dasakota are gonna turn up and try to break John Smith- that's Bob- out,"

I cut him off immediately, "Woah! Woah, woah, woah! _John Smith_? That's your real name?" I shouted out of the cell, "_John Smith_? You've gotta be kidding me, right? Tell me you're joking!" I looked at Arron's weirded out face, "Apparently you're not,"

"Yes!" A familiarly irritated voice shouted back, "My name is John Smith. So what?"

"Um... isn't that, like, a bit Doctor Who-ish," I asked, grinning.

"Who the hell is Doctor Who?" Smith demanded.

"You know, that TV show with that guy who's a time lord and is nine hundred years old and has two hearts and regenerates and travels in a blue box called the T.A.R.D.I.S.!" I babbled.

"Oh. That TV show," John muttered.

"Come to think about it, you even look like the ninth doctor!" I exclaimed.

"...Thanks," John Smith told me, then paused, "He's the bald one, isn't he?" He asked in an insulted voice.

"Yup! That's him!" I said cheerfully.

Bob didn't seem to have a reply to that, so I turned back to Arron and signalled for him to go on. Arron looked at me, and rolled his eyes.

"MI6," He whispered quietly, "Wanted to take _him_ into custody, so that when Dasakota arrived- not knowing, of course, that he wasn't there- they would get caught and they wouldn't have had the chance to break him out,"

I paused for a second as I took it all in, "That would be a brilliant if it worked,"

Arron looked at me sharply, "You say that like you know it's not going to,"

"It won't," I growled in frustration, "Because MI6 have a spy,"

"...Shit," Was Arron's only reply.

I wracked my brains, "We've gotta tell them somehow. We've gotta tell them who it is. Or at least who we think it is... We've gotta at least warn them!"

"Well, how did you know that they had a spy?" Arron asked reasonably.

"Peter told me," I replied shortly, "But they don't believe him, so they're not exactly gonna believe us. I'm a supposed criminal who supposedly hacked into MI6 and you were caught spying on them outside the prison. We both know each other. They'll presume we're a distraction or something. They won't listen to us,"

"So what the hell can we do?" Arron asked, "We could try and contact someone outside. Someone with a big influence. You could ring CHERUB and tell them, or something, but we don't have a phone," He cursed and banged his head off the wall.

"Who said I didn't have a phone?" I asked slyly, producing my phone.

"You are either insane or brilliant. I'm leaning towards insane," Arron told me.

"Yeah, the morons forgot to search me on the way in. They didn't even double check that it was actually an inhaler I'd taken from my room," I tutted.

"Yup, insane," Arron sighed, "but still, who do we ring?"

"I'm not an agent so I don't have the phone number thingie to call CHERUB," I growled, "I'm gonna have to talk to Meryl about that when I get back. But who else could we call?" I frowned.

"Emma!" Arron exclaimed, "She's an agent! You can call her and get the number- or even better, call her and get her to ring! Which means we can try ringing some of your other friends to see what they can do too,"

"Wow. Jesus. This whole thing is starting to get kinda widespread," I muttered, "What happened to secret services and spies remaining secret and unknown?"

"Clearly," Arron replied, looking out into the corridor cautiously, "They're not good enough at their jobs,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 90~Emma<p>

My phone rang, making me jump. The ringtone wasn't very loud, but every person in the class- teacher included- turned to stare at me. I tried the apologetic smile.

"Sorry miss. I must've forgotten to turn it off," I mumbled.

The teacher walked over slowly, glaring at me and held out her hand. I sighed and pulled my still ringing phone out of my pocket. And saw it was Anna ringing. I paused looking up at the teacher.

"Um... it's... it's a really important phone call. I really need to take it," I told her, wincing at my pathetic excuse. Couldn't I have said something about a relative that had some sort of bad disease and I needed to have my phone on me at all times?

"I'm sure you consider your social life to be _very _important, Miss Hestford, but I don't. Hand it over," I was told sternly.

The phone stopped ringing, and I cursed silently, handing over the phone somewhat reluctantly.

"You can have it back at the end of the lesson, but next time I catch you with your phone on in lessons, you will get a detention and your phone confiscated for the rest of the week,"

And the lesson started up again, going considerably slower than it had before as I pondered all the reasons why Anna would ring me at this time during the day. She knew I'd be at school! She knew I would be in lessons! Why would she ring unless it was an emergency? What if she was ringing because something had happened about her hacking into MI6?

The end of the lesson couldn't come quick enough, although I had to wait behind at the end and have a nice little discussion about breaking rules before I was given my phone back. I had English next, and I was already late for it, because I'd had to stay behind. No one was going to miss me for another five minutes, were they? But then, where was I supposed to ring Anna from? I couldn't exactly start talking to her about CHERUB and whatnot in the girls toilets! What if someone came in or overheard.

I marched out of the building and headed round the back, thanking God that the school wasn't what you could call fond of windows. Five minutes later I was standing behind the massive school greenhouse thing they had. No one was around, and it was out of the way enough that there was very little chance of anyone passing by and seeing me, or overhearing me.

I rang Anna's number and held my breath.

"Hello?" I heard her whisper, "Emma?"

"It's me. Sorry about earlier. I was in class," I stopped for less than half a second, "Why did you ring me when you knew I'd be in the middle of lessons?"

"Ok, Emma, chill. I've been arrested- without charge, mind you- and I'm at MI6 right now," Anna started, sounding put off.

"Anna! Seriously? You _had _to go and get yourself arrested. Why did you need to ring me to tell me that? Ok, admittedly, I'm fine with you ringing me, just not in the middle of lessons!"

"Um... Arron's with me too..." Anna added.

"What? What's he in there for? _Both _of you got arrested? That does not sound like a coincidence to me, Anna," I snapped quietly.

"Um... yeah, there was this whole thing with Dasakota and I asked him to check it out and... well... he got caught,"

"Anna Simons, the next time I see you I am going to kill you! Seriously? You had to drag Arron into trouble too?" I growled, now officially annoyed. Did she know no limits?

"Well it's a bloody fucking good job I asked him, because he's found out MI6's plan to catch the rest of Dasakota, which relies on them not knowing a few specific details. Only thing is, MI6 has a fucking spy who is feeding Dasakota their information and they don't even know it!" Anna retorted, sounding twice as annoyed as I did.

"So why the hell are you ringing me?" I demanded, "Tell them they've got a spy! And how did _you _find out they had a spy?"

"Peter Kenedy told me, ok? Only, MI6 don't believe him," Anna told me shortly.

"So how is telling me this helping?" I asked, still not getting why I was talking to Anna right now.

"They're not exactly going to believe us, are they?" Anna pointed out, "We need someone to warn them. To at least get them on their guard. They wouldn't expect anything to happen back at MI6. They're expecting it all to be at the prison. Some of it probably will be (it would clue them in, otherwise) but someone will come and release John Smith- the guy they're all trying to break out of prison- form here,"

"So... you called me, so that I'd call CHERUB and get them to call MI6 to warn them that they have a spy and someone might be about to rescue a certain John Smith from a prison cell in MI6," I simplified.

"Um... basically, yeah," Anna told me, "Think we've got any chances of actually helping?"

"None," I told her blandly. They weren't going to listen because we claimed they had a spy. We needed evidence. But I gathered that there was seriously not enough time and definitely not enough evidence to do anything. "But we might as well try. What's the worst they can do? Ignore us? Then they'll just have to put up with us laughing in their faces when we get proven right,"

"Just one last thing," Anna added, "_Don't _be a moron and let CHERUB tell MI6 that you found all this out from us. It'll probably get us into trouble and they'll be twice as likely not to agree,"

"Ok, can do," I muttered, "You do realise I'm missing lessons right now, just so I can give CHERUB a phone call,"

"Uh huh, I figured I'd be doing you a favour," Anna chuckled.

"You realise the two siblings who you're actually dragging out of school are both the ones that aren't too bothered about learning and stuff," I smiled.

"There is something seriously wrong with your brains," Anna sighed.

"Thanks," I answered, "Anyway, I'll make your stupid phone call. I'll ring you... at some point,"

"Bye," Anna said dryly.

I called off then keyed in Chloe's number. She picked up immediately.

"Emma, where are you? Why are you phoning? You're supposed to be in lessons," She asked immediately.

I groaned. This was going to take a lot of explaining. Not to mention the amount of rules I was more than probably breaking. School rules included in that.

"Um... my sister just called. She's been arrested by MI6, but that's not what this is about. Um... Christ, this is gonna sound very far-fetched and totally over the top," I began.

It took me a further ten minutes to explain to Chloe the whole situation and I was starting to get paranoid that I would be noticed, standing behind the greenhouse by myself. I also had to think about getting back to class soon.

"Ok, so do you want me to ring CHERUB campus and explain the situation?" Chloe questioned.

"Uh yeah," I sighed, "I didn't want to ring them because we're only supposed to do that in an emergency,"

"That's fine. I'll call CHERUB now, and see what I can do. I'll let you know in a minute if we achieve anything," Chloe told me, and hung up.

"Wellll..." I muttered out loud, looking around.

Now that I wasn't talking or really doing anything, I was feeling awkward. What should I do whilst I was waiting? Go back to class and put my phone on silence? Or wait here until Chloe rang me back? What if it took her absolutely ages? I'd already missed half of my English lesson.

Before I lost my nerve and went back into class, though, my phone was ringing again. I picked it up, "Hello?"

"It's Chloe. CHERUB rang MI6 and warned them. We don't really know how much good has come of it, but at least they'll be on their guard," Chloe told me.

"Ok, I've gotta get back to lessons now. Thanks, Chloe," I said hurriedly.

We exchanged goodbyes and I called off, immediately dialling Anna's number, "Anna?"

"You took your freaking time," She tutted.

"Whatever, ok? Look, they rang but they're not really sure how much good it's done. You'll just have to hope they _do _listen," I sighed.

"Ok. Shit... gotta go. Half-an-hourly jailer coming. Look, I'll see you later, ok? I'll ring... at _some _point," Anna promised and before I had a chance to say anything, the line was dead.

I stared at my phone, "I am going to kill that girl someday," I sighed, and headed back into school to face whatever punishment I was more than likely to get for skiving off almost the whole lesson.


	30. The Not So Great Escape

Chapter 91~Anna

I called off and looked up at the door, hiding my phone with my hand as I heard the familiar footsteps-and-door-opening sound. The woman walked past.

"I see you've made a friend," She called, "And you've got a neighbour now!"

"I know, I'm just _so _popular today, aren't I?" I said back loudly.

"Clearly. Oh well, at least you've got a bit more company now. Better than a conversation once every half an hour I suppose?"

"Um... I'm stuck with a criminal and someone I know for a fact is nerdy and has no social life. Not exactly brilliant company,"

I heard her laugh as the door at the other end of the room clicked shut.

"What did Emma say?" Arron demanded immediately.

"She said that CHERUB told MI6, but they're not sure it helped much," I sighed, "Clearly, since our jailer didn't seem any more alert than the last time I saw her,"

"Shit." Arron muttered.

"What? It's not that bad," I grinned, "What's the worst that can happen? He gets free and we get to shove it in MI6's face?"

"I was thinking. Hang on- why exactly, and how, did Peter tell you about the spy?" Arron hissed suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow, not following his direction of thought, but shrugged and answered very quietly, "He came to CHERUB to talk to me about it with Meryl and Mac. Apparently it's a valuable thing to have someone who can 'hack' into MI6. They thought a spy might... want to acquire someone who's that good at hacking. According to Peter, Mac and Meryl, anyway,"

I looked at Arron, "Um, hello? What's with the freaked out look? Did you think I sucked at hacking and have been lying this whole time?" I asked sarcastically.

"Think about it!" Arron snapped quietly, "The spy obviously doesn't really want his real identity to be- you know- discovered, or whatever. If he comes in here, well, we'll see him, right? So what's he gonna do? Well, he knows you're good at hacking. One less witness, right? So he might take you with them or something,"

I looked at him, "Uh uh, not happening. I am _not _getting kidnapped. Not a-freaking-gain, ok?"

But Arron wasn't finished, "The thing is- I'm not supposed to be here, am I? They probably don't know I'm even locked up right now. So what do they do with me?"

"...Shit," I muttered.

"Why is it that I am _never _in trouble apart from when you're involved?" Arron groaned.

"Bad luck? Bad timing?" I suggested, "Look, if we hear anyone coming down that corridor, hide in the bathroom. If you don't see who it is, and they don't see you, hopefully they'll leave you alone, ok?"

"And leave you out there? What if they _don't _take you anyway? What then?" Arron pointed out.

"Ok, we're acting like this is definitely going to happen," I took a deep breath, "Chances are, it's not. CHERUB has called. MI6 know. Maybe our jailer just hasn't found out yet. Either way, there's not a very big chance of it happening. We need to calm down. If it happens, it happens. We'll be screwed and there's not exactly a lot we can do about that,"

"So your plan is to sit tight and wait until we're either 'screwed' or we get let out?" Arron groaned in frustration.

"Basically, yeah," I nodded, "It's a good thing we've got experience at this whole 'sit tight and wait' thing, isn't it?"

"If you're suggesting we play Charades, I Spy, the Name Game or _anything _else, that sp better hurry the bloody hell up," Arron growled.

"Well... in that case... what about hide and seek?" I grinned innocently.

"I'm gonna start timing that spy in a minute," Arron muttered under his breath.

"I take it my offer has been rejected. Ouch." I paused, "Hey! John! Smithie! Want a game of I Spy?"

"No!" Came a short, slightly-worried sounded reply.

I suppressed a smile. We sat in silence for a few minutes, me and Arron thinking and I have no clue what Bob was doing. I thought back to hacking into MI6, and tried to remember the files I'd read. I was going to have to hide or delete all the stuff on the memory stick when I got back. The files... I needed to get that message Dad had given to Peter.

Thinking about the files made me think about the stupid reason I'd been traced back to CHERUB campus in the first place. That damn _**Are you sure you wish to navigate away from this page? **_Box. God. Don't you just _hate _boxes that say useless shit like that?

Dad had shown me a trick to stop them from popping up on the computer screen once, as well as all the shit about altering what they did. Emma and mine's laptop had gone through a very annoying phase of having an _**Are you sure you wish to navigate away from this page? **_Notice popping up every time we crossed something off, so Dad had taught me how to make it shut the hell up. He'd also told me that it was something he'd figured out how to do himself. Not many people knew how to do it. Some people, he'd said, could probably figure it out, like him, but for the most part, anyone who knew had found out from him. Myself included, of course.

So who the hell had done that to my bloody laptop? And how had they found out how to do it? Had Dad told them? Had they figured it out themselves? Or...

I looked at Arron, "If I were to tell you something completely insanely crazy, would you believe me?"

"Nope, why'd you ask?" Arron said immediately and without any hesitation.

"Peter said there was this guy, called Francis, and he was the spy," I began, trying to remember everything Peter had said, which was, admittedly, about three sentences, "Apparently this, guy, Francis keeps acting really suspicious. He's also Peter's new work partner,"

"So? What's completely insanely crazy about that?" Arron rolled his eyes.

I shrugged- I hadn't thought it made any difference, but if my idea was actually right, then it made a little more sense- "I'm just... thinking aloud, ok?"

"Ok, whatever," Arron muttered.

"So... if this Francis guy is the spy, why the hell is he acting all suspicious in front of all these agents- or at least in front of Peter? Why would he do that?" I frowned, "And why is he partners with Peter?"

"Don't ask me. I'd say coincidence, but there isn't really anything coincidental about it at all. What are you going on about, Anna?" Arron demanded.

I smiled mysteriously, "I think... I think I know who Francis is. Who he _really _is, I mean," Then I frowned, "But if I'm right, and MI6 are running around trying to find a spy and stop him from letting the moron guy over here out, then we've just caused him a _lot _of trouble,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 92<p>

Simon made his way through MI6, dodging out of the way of anyone who might recognise him and stop him to talk- which was basically everyone. He needed to get to the secondary control room, the other side of the building. There was a certain amount of sabotage he needed to get started with, to make sure MI6 didn't get a particular group of Dasakota members who were just about to break into a certain prison.

He weaved through the less-packed-than-usual crowd and kept his head down, avoiding eye contact, ignoring anyone who called out his name and all but shoving people aside as he barged through them. He couldn't afford to screw any of this up. Fred had given him one last chance, and if he didn't do his job, there wouldn't be a way out. Fred had swore to him, before he had left, that if he messed up their plans, he would turn Simon over to MI6, even if he himself was arrested.

He arrived at the secondary control room with minutes to spare. He was just about to enter the key code into the door, when he felt a particularly large metal object whack him over the head.

* * *

><p>Francis stood over the unconscious body, holding a fire extinguisher up, ready to hit again if need be. He didn't need to.<p>

"I'm sorry," He whispered, as he dragged the man into the nearest cleaning cupboard and locked him in, "But I can't let you do this," And he turned around and walked calmly back down the corridor, placing the extinguisher back where he'd found it.

* * *

><p>Fred, Franco and Sam were sitting, with about ten others in the back of one of three vans, waiting for the vehicle to stop. If Simon didn't fail, he would be able to get them through security by sabotaging the cameras, electrical barriers and pretty much all the computers within the prison. Anything electric that he could, Simon was supposed to switch off or damage as much as possible.<p>

Unfortunately for the members of Dasakota that were sitting in the vans, Simon was lying unconscious in a cleaning cupboard and wouldn't be helping them anytime soon. Not only that, but MI6 had set a trap that could be called vaguely clever. Their trap- their distraction- was falling to pieces every minute. It had gone wrong from the start.

"Alright, they seem to have let us through the gates," The driver yelled as the vehicle stopped for a few seconds then started up again, "But all their electrical stuff is still working,"

Fred, Franco and Sam shared a worried look. Something had gone wrong.

"Maybe he couldn't switch it off, so he's wrecked the system enough for us to get past?" Sam suggested hopefully- he quite liked Simon, and didn't really want the man to end up behind bars for the rest of his life.

"Maybe, but we should be on our guard," Fred advised.

Sam nodded and loaded his gun. He might quite like Simon, but he didn't exactly trust the man to get the job done and, besides, you didn't get to a member of his status in a criminal organisation by being _nice, _did you?

"We're being pulled over!" The driver yelled, sounding slightly panicked.

"Well shut up! Talk yourself out of it! Don't bloody give us away by yelling back to us!" Fred snapped furiously.

The van slowed down again, and, before anyone could quite register what was happening, the doors to the back of the van were being hauled open, and a mixture of MI6 agents and prison security officers were pointing guns in everyone's faces.

"Put your guns down or we'll shoot you!" An MI6 officer yelled immediately.

The other members looked towards Fred, who glared at them for giving away that he was leading them before slowly placing his gun on the floor. Fred knew when he was cornered. The best thing he could do right now is go along with everything, and make sure he punished Simon severely afterwards. Everyone else followed suit and put down their guns.

"Right, I want your leaders or high status members to climb out of the van with their hands on their heads," The same officer ordered.

Fred motioned for Franco and Sam to stand up, and the three of them- being the only senior or above members in the whole group- picked their way over to the door and climbed out slowly, their hands on their heads, glaring at everyone. The second they were out of the van, they were tackled to the ground and handcuffed.

"Take the rest of them and lock them up in a prison cell for the time being. We'll sort them out later," Some MI6 bigwig instructed, "We'll take these three back to base. They're a security risk,"

There was a chorus of "Yes sir's" as Sam, Fred and Franco wee shoved roughly into the back of another van, and then the sound cut off as the van doors shut.

"Bloody Simon Sundal!" Franco cursed under his breath.

"Shut up! They could've bugged the van! Just shut up and sit down," Fred whisper-shouted.

It was going to be a long journey to MI6.

* * *

><p>Francis made his way down the corridor, patting his jacket pocket to make sure his handheld computer-device was still there. He checked his other jacket pocket to make sure the keys to the cells were there. Then he checked his watch.<p>

It was only ten minutes until the jailer next went through the prison cells. It was going to be a tight schedule. And that wasn't even counting the fact that MI6 had had almost twenty minutes to arrest the senior members of the raid and make their way back to headquarters.

Francis was cutting it closer than he would've liked, but he'd needed to retrace Simon's steps to make sure that the moron hadn't left anything that would automatically do the job for Simon if he couldn't or alert Fred that something was wrong (not that Francis thought the man could be anywhere near so technologically advanced).

Francis found himself at the first electrical door which required a password. There were another six, all with different passwords, that he would have to pass through to reach the cells. Francis wished he could've found out the codes, but he hadn't had enough time to do so without arousing suspicion. He'd have to do it all manually.

He took out his handheld computer and held it up next to the keypad. It was a simple one, with the numbers zero to nine on and it was only a four-digit code, but the different possible answers meant it would be near impossible. There were ten thousand possibilities. Luckily for Francis, he had a handheld computer that was especially designed to hack these sort of codes.

Francis was past the first door in a matter of seconds. Then the third. Then the fourth. He was at the final one less than three minutes later, but he didn't celebrate. He just didn't have enough time. Seven minutes. Minus the three to go back through all the doors. Four minutes. Definitely not enough time. But there was no harm in trying.

* * *

><p>Chapter 93~Anna<p>

"No. No _way_. No. I refuse to believe a word that comes out of your mouth any more. You were right, it is completely insanely crazy. And it isn't in anyway true," Arron told me bluntly.

"But just think about it, Arron!" I snapped, exasperated, "It would be perfect. No one would have been able to find him! He would have been right under their noses the whole entire time! It's a brilliant hiding place, you've got to admit,"

"But why would he need to hide? I thought you said that Peter thought that he thought there was a spy in MI6," Arron retorted.

"That made zero sense," I said stubbornly. It did, kinda. But it was the point that I'd been trying to avoid, because it was the point I couldn't explain.

"And how did they know what day they were moving him, then, if he was, _you know_?" Arron went on.

"I don't know, alright! I'm just saying! It's a possibility, and it makes a lot of sense!" I told him, agitated, "C'mon, you've got to admit it makes sense! At least, some of it does anyway!"

"No! I'm not going to listen to you babble on about this any lon-" Arron froze as we both heard footsteps, "Our wonderful jailer?" He asked sarcastically.

I checked the clock on my phone, "No, she's always dead on time. To the minute, pretty much. And whoever this is, is seven minutes earlier than when she's due,"

"The spy, then?" Arron asked, his eyes narrowing, "Maybe it's time to see if you're right,"

The door opened, and both of our heads snapped around to see who was outside our cell. It was an average sized man, with glasses and brown hair. He rushed past our cell and seemed to double check the cell along.

"Ah! So you're the double agent that's come to rescue me!" We heard Bob exclaim, sounding pleased. The man must've been Francis then.

Arron gave me an ever so smug I-told-you-so look. I glared at him.

"Well, technically, yes," Francis replied, "But I'm not rescuing you anymore,"

He appeared in our doorway, fumbling with some keys. I gave Arron my own smug look.

"It doesn't prove a single thing, Anna!" He muttered under his breath.

"Maybe, maybe not," I retorted.

"You two hurry up and get out of there! There'll be a guard of some sort any minute and we need to get out of here," Francis ordered.

"Why should we trust you?" Arron demanded.

"Good God you two are impossible!" Francis groaned.

He looked around, then pulled off his glasses and started tugging at his face.

"Ok... we were both wrong then, Anna. He's an insane man with a face mask," Arron proposed.

"No, it's this disgusting face putty stuff actors use to change their facial features. We really don't have time for this, you realise?" Francis barked.

"If it's that stuff, then way the hell is it taking so long to peel off?" I asked curiously.

"Because I haven't taken it off for several weeks,"

"Um... I'm pretty sure that's a health issue. What if it went mouldy or something?"

The fake-face finally came off and Arron and I gawped at the difference between Francis and the man before us.

"Shit," Arron muttered.

I grinned at Arron, "I _so_ told you,"

The man before us had changed from hurried and anxious to kinda nervous. As he should, since I was sincerely pissed off at him.

"Hello again you two,"

My grin melted into a glare, "I am _so_ going to kill you after this. Three _freaking _months! We thought you were dead! And what's the deal with the whole secrecy thing? Why the hell didn't you tell us that you worked for MI6? That Mum used to work for MI6?" I yelled at him.

Because, yup, the person standing in front of me and Arron was the one and only Michael Simons. Who would pretty soon be beginning to wish he'd stayed under cover. I was _not_ going to be put off this. I'd been planning my lecture a _long _time.

Dad held up his hands in surrender, "Look, I am so sorry for what I put you through, but, honestly? Now really isn't the best time to discuss it!"

"Anna, he has a point- your jailer friend is gonna be here any minute," Arron told me worriedly.

"Yes, and the second she arrives I'll let her know exactly which direction you head off in," Bob growled from the sides.

I turned and death-glared him, "Piss off, before I fucking stab you,"

"Anna, leave it!" Arron yelled, as Dad grabbed my hand and one of Arron's and started pulling us towards the nearest door.

"Let's go!" He yelled, pulling out a device.

I elbowed him aside and punched in the numbers, "It's a simple freaking four digit code you moron! You're way out of practice if you need to use that! And besides," I growled as Dad looked at me in astonishment, "I've watched almost every time that woman comes and goes. I think I've seen her enter the code enough times,"

"Well then, I suppose we'll need to change the codes, if a fourteen year old can hack them without any equipment at all," An ice cold voice stated from behind.

The three of us turned in equal amounts horror and surprise to see several angry looking MI6 dudes pointing guns at us. Several more were holding three handcuffed guys, which I guessed were from Dasakota. Peter was crouched on the floor, the discarded face putty in one hand, the contacts in the other, a frown on his face as he stared at my Dad.

"Fifteen, actually," I snapped, glaring at them, "And it's bloody easy enough. I bet you've never actually changed the fucking codes. The amount of times you punch in those codes, and none of you think it doesn't wear down the keypads," I shook my head and tutted.

"Children should speak when they're being spoken to!" Was the pissed off reply.

I glared at him, wanting to point out that A) I wasn't a child, I was a _teenager_ B) Adults only say that when they have no other argument to use and C) that was a saying used in, what? The eighteen hundreds? We were living in the twenty-first century. No child was gonna stick be that rule, so where the hell had he been living for the past decade or so?

"Commander Karp," Dad began.

"And just who the hell are you?" He snapped, turning to address Dad, as well as wave his gun around.

"Annnnnddd the guns. Why are people so obsessed with guns? All we need now is for Bob to break out and shoot at us. Then we'd basically have an identical situation on our hands to last time," I muttered quietly to Arron.

"Yeah, except, we wouldn't be rescued by MI6- we'd be recaptured by MI6," Arron replied at the same volume.

"I repeat: Who the fuck are you?" Karpie snapped at my Dad.

"I go away for three months after seeing him every working day for more than a decade, and when I get back he's completely forgotten? Nice bloke. Remind me next time to leave a picture with my name on next time I go missing," Dad muttered, but spoke up in a calm voice, "My name, as you might already know, is Michael Simons. Agent six, eight, three, nine, five."

"You expect me to believe that? Michael Simons has been missing for months!" The man yelled, gun still pointed at Dad.

Peter stood up, "Sir! Um... that is Michael Simons- he... um..." He held up the face putty, still moulded into Francis' features, and the glasses and contact lenses, "I don't think he ever quite left MI6, sir!"

"What the hell do you-" Karp paused as he took in what Peter was holding, then he was back glaring at Dad, "You were pretending to be Francis Codge?"

I saw the three handcuffed guys look up in shock and anger, and realised that Dad had obviously been working as a spy- supposedly- for them. Well this day just kept getting better and better. I saw the middle of the handcuffed men smile cruelly.

"Time, I think, for us to go," Dad muttered to Arron and I, backing towards the door slowly.

"That's not true!" The evil-but-currently-handcuffed-moron snapped suddenly, pretending to be angry again, "Francis Codge worked for us!" Karp and pretty much everyone else in the room turned to look at him.

"Come on," Dad hissed, and we darted through the doorway and started running.

Dad pushed us through and immediately brought up his handheld computer. He clicked a button and there were some weird sounding noises.

"The doors won't open for another four minutes- all the doors in that room. So let's get going!" Dad ordered

"Come on you guys!" Arron yelled at us as Dad got us through the next door. "If we only have four minutes we need to get as far as possibble because they're gonna catch up on us fast!"

"The doors would only lock for a maximum of four minutes," Dad shrugged, "And it wouldn't have been any good if all of the doors out of here locked for four minutes. I've programmed them to lock as soon as we're passed them,"

"Never mind that," Arron snapped as he grabbed us and started dragging us clear of the last door, "Where the hell is the way out?"

"Give me a second- I need to find Kenedy's office," Dad muttered, producing a phone, "I need to drop this off so I can contact him and keep up-to-date with what's happening here. The exit is straight up that corridor, two lefts and a right, ok? I'll meet you in some trees to the right of the building in less than five minutes," And he ran off down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"Come on!" Arron yelled, and the two of us set off- racing towards the exit.


	31. Punishment

Chapter 94~Anna

Three hours, five taxi's and a cup of tea later, the three of us were sitting in a small apartment in the centre of Manchester. Arron and I had filled Dad in with what had happened to us, and now Dad was finally beginning to explain everything to us.

"When Dasakota found out the location of the safe house I was heading to," Dad began, "I realised that if I did anything official, they would find out, and I would put everyone in danger. So I decided that I needed a spy on the inside to find out who was the spy in MI6. Fighting fire with fire, or however the saying goes. So I went undercover, infiltrated them, so that I would be able to find out immediately if they tried to do anything to you, and stop them. It was about a week after John Smith had been arrested, all of this, so everything was in chaos. It wasn't exactly hard to get in.

"I found out Lola had fled to America because the contacts she's used to sell the house were good friends of mine. They didn't tell me directly. In fact, they didn't even know that it was me that they were talking to, but I found out. You, Emma and Gabby disappeared of course, but we'd already organised some sort of protection, and I had been told some information about a child agency that used kids as spies, called CHERUB. So I knew vaguely what had happened to you. I kept tabs on you too, Arron," Dad told us, "Soon after I joined, I was offered a chance to get in with the senior members, who were planning the rescue mission for John Smith. I took it, and soon enough I was finding out everything that went on in Dasakota. I found out the spy that had given me away, that was in MI6. And then I was told by Dasakota that they needed another spy in MI6, and that they thought I was perfect for the job. So I became a supposed double agent.

"I gave them the information, but left certain bits out. Enough to look good, but not enough that they could take advantage of it. Then I had to start planning. I needed to get the spy in MI6 out in the open. The prison break was ages away, but it would be an operation needing help from inside MI6, and one big enough that Dasakota would be willing to take some risks where they hadn't before. So I started planning," Dad sighed, "I knew you'd be trying to hack into MI6, if you had found out I was missing, so I knew I needed to figure out how to fit this into my plans. From the very beginning, I acted suspiciously, but only around Peter. I knew how he'd react. We'd suspected for months that there was a spy, and, although I was new, it would make Peter suspicious. I then convinced Commander Karp not to trust CHERUB any longer, to force Peter to have to talk to anyone at CHERUB directly. So I found out where you were and found my way to get to you.

"When Meryl confiscated your laptop, she gave it to Peter to decrypt, and to add newly developed software that tracks everything your laptop does, so that they could follow you when you hacked into MI6. I just changed one or two settings here and there. I knew you would get arrested, but I'll get back to that in a minute.

"Dasakota and I arranged the plan for the day of the prison break perfectly, and when I came home telling them that MI6 were taking John into custody to make sure we didn't release him, they made it my job to break him out of the jails there. So it was incredibly convenient that you two got locked up today, so that I could release you instead of John. I had planned to use today to frame the real spy in MI6, and then I could also drop my secret identity and go back to being Michael Simons. As you saw, it didn't work quite the way I had wanted," Dad finished.

"So... you're telling me you planned this thing from pretty much the moment you went missing three months ago?" I gawped.

"I had a vague idea back then, but mostly I just added to it all of the time, until I had a fully-developed plan with a reasonable chance of it actually being pulled off. And it worked. Apart from the last bit," Dad sighed.

Just as he finished, the phone rang, "That'll be Peter then," Dad told us, sending us an apologetic glance and picking up the phone, "Hello?" There was a slight pause, "Tell me what happened after we escaped." Another, longer pause, that went on for about five minutes. Arron and I exchanged looks, "Ok. I don't know quite yet. I'll work out the details and ring you back soon. Thank you, Peter,"

Dad put down the phone and sighed, "It's worse than I thought. Karp is now convinced that I've gone rogue. He thinks that I was the only spy in MI6, that there wasn't one before me. He's calling the police, MI5, everyone. I'm officially a wanted criminal,"

"Wow...that's a bit over the top, isn't it?" I asked.

"Karp's middle name is over the top," Dad sighed, "Look, I can't stay here. I can't stay in England,"

"So where the hell _are _you going to go?" Arron questioned.

"Well, I found out where Lola is. I think I'd be able to sneak aboard a plane going to America and lay low until this blows over slightly. I'd be able to come back in a few years, I suppose. But it'll be a long time until I can start to figure out a way to frame MI6's spy again," Dad said, not exactly looking delighted with that.

"A few _years_?" I asked quietly, something inside me snapping. I was sick of this! Sick of my whole bloody family being torn apart, all the fucking time! "A few freaking _years_? And that's ok, is it? It's ok for you to just go off to America for the next few years and leave us all here?"

Dad looked at me, "Don't think I want to do this Anna. I have to. What would you rather happen? I go to America or I go to prison?"

"Neither! I would rather that you don't bloody fucking give up! It's all Dasakota's fucking fault!" I snapped, "If it wasn't for them, you wouldn't have been pursued by people who want to murder you, Mum wouldn't have fucked off to America, Arron and I wouldn't have been kidnapped and you wouldn't have had to spend the last three months constantly having to pretend to be someone else so that you wouldn't get caught! And you're just going to give up because your plan screwed up? That's it? They've screwed our family up and you're just gonna sit back and take it because you couldn't finish them off first time round?" I was shouting now.

"What else can I do, Anna? I'm a wanted criminal! A fugitive in my own country! Yes, they've messed up our family, but getting arrested for it isn't going to help!" Dad snapped back.

"So tell us who this spy is, and we'll frame him, and then prove to Karp that you're not a traitorous spy!" I reasoned, "Don't just go off to America and act like there's no hope left in the world. If you can't because you're a wanted criminal, we'll fix it for you!"

"No! You are not going anywhere near Dasakota! They're dangerous! They'd sooner kill you than be within two hundred yards of you. This is my own problem! I'll sort it out," Dad argued.

"Except you can't," I replied, trying to convince him as much as I could, "Because you have a _lot _of people running around trying to find you," I stood up, crossing my arms, "And if you can't, we can! I can at least help! I haven't the slightest clue how the hell I can do anything, but I'm sure as hell ready to help,"

"Anna," Dad said warningly.

"Dad," I replied coolly, in my I-am-not-changing-my-mind-about-this-deal-with-it voice.

"I agree with Anna, Dad. Dasakota is wrecking our lives, and while Anna, Emma and Gabby at least have CHERUB, and a bright future, they also have a family, and a Mum and Dad, and I don't think any of us are going to give up on the hope that one day we might actually get the chance to be a normal family," Arron stood up next to me.

I flashed him a grateful smile, as Dad put his head in his hands, "I'd forgotten how bloody adamant you kids got when you knew you were right," He groaned, and looked up, "You're going to have to stop swearing do much, Anna,"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I replied, faking innocence.

"Ok, fine, you can help. Just be careful," Dad sighed, "Sit down you two, and we'll work something out,"

I checked my watch, "Actually, Dad, it's nearly nine, I need to get back to campus before MI6 contacts CHERUB and they freak out to all hell, and Arron needs to get back home and do his homework or whatever,"

Dad nodded slowly, "Ok. As soon as I've sorted out things here, I'm getting on a plane to America. That means that I'll be gone in about five hours. Arron, I'll get Peter to contact you sometime tomorrow. I'll have talked to him and filled him in on all I can by then, so you'll have to work with him," Arron nodded and Dad looked at me, "I take it you probably won't be able to take day visits off campus after this?"

"No," I sighed.

"Fine," Dad got up and looked through a draw on the desk to the side of the room. He produced a phone identical to the one he'd been using to talk to Peter a few minutes ago, and identical to the one he'd ran off to place on Peter's desk at MI6.

"It's a pay as you go phone. It'll be very hard to trace any calls or anything. Use this to call Peter or me, and we can keep you up-to-date from campus. But don't call too often. Only about once every two weeks or so," Dad ordered, handing over the phone, "I won't see you again until we can sort out what to do about the spy in MI6 and we have a definite fool-proof plan of what to do,"

I hugged Dad, "Thanks for letting me help out," I told him.

"You didn't exactly give me any choice, did you?" Dad sighed.

I pulled back, "Look, I've got a friend on campus who knows all about Dasakota. I can work with her and sort stuff out. I can get my friends there to help out to. We can sort all of it out. You've just got to let me help out, and let me make my own decisions," I told him, knowing he would absolutely _hate _the plan that was forming in my head.

Dad sighed, "After this is over, we're going to have to have a long talk about you listening and taking into consideration what your authoritive figures actually tell you, because I'm getting the feeling that you don't really do that much,"

"Nope," I whispered, hugging him again, "I'm gonna miss you, Dad," I bit my lip and took a deep breath, standing back. I was upset, sure, but I was fucked if I was gonna cry or get all emotional over my Dad leaving temporarily.

Arron hugged Dad then and Dad smiled at us both, "I'll speak to both of you soon, ok?"

"Yeah," I smiled back sadly, "I'll see you soon, Dad. I promise. You can come back to England soon,"

"Let's hope so," Dad sighed as he pushed us towards the door.

I hugged him on the porch again and hugged Arron too, then set off hurriedly, only too aware that I was going to be in massive trouble back on CHERUB campus.

I pulled out my phone and rang Dan. He picked up immediately.

"Anna? What's up? Where are you? What happened? Elizabeth overheard that MI6 called and told Mac that you'd escaped. With your brother and some weird guy called Francis who is a spy and traitor and is kidnapping you or something!" Dan babbled.

I sucked in a deep breath, "I'm not being kidnapped. I'm fine. Look, I'll explain later. Could you just get someone to pick me up? I'm in the middle of Manchester, and I'm kinda stuck for a lift home," I sighed, trying not to let my voice wobble.

"Uh yeah, sure. But I need to know kinda like, where to pick you up," Dan prompted. I looked around until I found a street sign and got my bearings, then told him. He called off with the promise of getting me a lift.

He lived up to his promise and a while later I was climbing into the back of the car to be greeted by a driver looking really, really awkward and Meryl ranting furiously at me the whole journey back. I didn't listen to a single word she said, just stared out of the window and wondered what the hell was going to happen now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 95~Anna<p>

After an hour of being drilled and drilled by Meryl and Mac and refusing to tell them what had actually happened while I was at MI6, the eventually decided that it was late and they could resume tomorrow. I trudged upstairs tiredly, and stumbled into my room.

I'd found my Dad, after trying for so long. And on the same night, he had to flee the country. I rubbed my eyes- and forced them open, deciding on a shower before anything else. I felt horrible and dirty after spending most of the day locked up, and it was one of those days where you get in really late and just feel generally yucky. Showers were officially therapeutic. After my shower I pulled on my pyjamas and sat on my bed. I texted Emma to tell her I was back at CHERUB and was ok, then fell asleep quickly.

"Anna! You're back! What the hell happened? I heard from Elizabeth that you were kidnapped- again! Holy shit! You look terrible!" Karlie babbled.

I blinked up at her, then at the alarm clock to my right, then at my windows, then back to her. And pulled the covers back over my head.

"I hate you. Go away," I muttered, "It's too early. I'm too tired."

"Uh huh, you should know Meryl's really pissed off with you. I think Mac's decided to leave the interrogation to her, too, which means you're eternally screwed," Karlie continued.

"I don't care," I mumbled into my pillow. I wasn't exactly in the best of moods after last night, and I didn't really want to wake up and face the music, either. I had the feeling that Meryl wouldn't be too happy that I'd pretty much ignored every single word she'd said last night.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, Dan is freaking out completely- he's been worried sick. I told him that I'd go see if you were ok, since he's too dainty to withstand the wrath of Anna Simons being woken up early," Karlie laughed, pulling me out of bed by the foot. I clung to the side of my bed, refusing to move.

"I am going to kill you one of these days," I grumbled, "I swear it's not natural for you to be so happy this early,"

"I'm enjoying making you suffer," Karlie laughed, "it's payback for previous times,"

I sat up and glared, "Fine, you win. I'll get up and dressed. Wait outside you stalker,"

Karlie grinned at me and left me alone, shutting the door behind her. As promised, I stormed outside fully dressed a few minutes later.

"I hate you," I moaned.

"Good to know. Now, come on, we're meeting Dan downstairs for breakfast," Karlie told me, pulling me down the corridor.

"Karlie. It is half seven in the morning. Why the hell would anyone be downstairs eating breakfast right now?"

"Elizabeth," Was Karlie's noticeably more subdued answer.

"Oh God. I am not going downstairs to discuss what happened yesterday, over breakfast, at half seven in the morning," I argued.

"Tell that to Elizabeth. She's down there waiting for the 'latest gossip' which just happens to be a mystery since not even Mac knows what happened," Karlie shrugged, glancing at me suspiciously.

"And I don't think he really needs to know. It's not exactly his business," I retorted shortly, "It's not really anyone's business,"

"Oh come on! Quit it with the high and mighty I don't need to tell you anything shit!" Karlie moaned, "We're your friends! You tell us everything and we tell everyone else! It's what friends are for!"

"No one mentioned anything about it being at seven in the morning in this whole 'that's what friends are for' book of rules and regulations," I complained.

Karlie rolled her eyes at me, "Deal with it,"

We arrived downstairs and helped ourselves to a mixture of pancakes, waffles and cereal before joining Elizabeth, Tom, Liam and Dan at the only occupied table in the whole of the hall.

"Come on then! Spill it!" Cried Elizabeth as soon as I sat down, "I've been waiting all night! We all got up at seven to hear!"

I looked at her, "If you're trying to guilt me into telling you with the getting up at seven thing, it isn't going to work, because I got in late, went to bed even later and woke up at exactly the same time as the rest of you, practically,"

Elizabeth frowned, conceding my point and trying to think of another reason I should tell them all. Dan looked at me properly from across the table, "You all right,"

"Could be worse," I sighed, not exactly ready to say I was brilliant. It was after all seven o'clock in the morning. My Dad would be on his way to America by now, or maybe he would even have landed. I wondered briefly how he was going to find and get in touch with Lola, but supposed that since he'd had the MI6 files at his disposal for quite a while, he would be able to find her with reasonable ease. Dan gave me a brief, sympathetic smile.

"Um... tell us because we're your friends!" Elizabeth tried, oblivious to Dan and mine's exchange.

"If you are seriously trying the 'because we're friends' excuse, then we are all eternally screwed," I told her.

"Yeah, you've gotta admit that that excuse was a new low for you," Liam teased.

Elizabeth sighed, "I know but there isn't exactly a reason I _can _use. I can't use the 'you told them so why won't you tell us' excuse because _no one _knows what happened, and I can't use the 'how could you not tell us, we tell you everything' excuse because we don't really tell each other everything-"

"Yeah, otherwise we'd be eternally screwed because telling Elizabeth anything means we're basically announcing it to the world," Karlie muttered from next to me.

I smiled in agreement as Elizabeth continued, "and well, after using those four excuses there's not really a lot more you can say. Usually the person has blabbed by then!" She sighed dramatically, "This is killing me! How can _no one _know not know anything about it! All we know is that you were arrested by MI6 earlier this morning for hacking their techy-stuff or whatever, and that you phoned Dan last night, said the guy who everyone thought had kidnapped you 'owed you a favour' then asked for a lift home!"

I smiled, "And that's really all you need to know. I'm fine now, aren't I? I'm not kidnapped, dead or otherwise, so why do you need to know what happened?"

I was teasing her really- I just couldn't help it. I'd realised that I was going to have to tell them an approximation of what had happened last night. They were my friends and they did kinda deserve to know. I just didn't really want to right now. Plus, Meryl would kill me if she got the news second-hand.

"Because- I- I need to know because!" Elizabeth blustered, and we all smiled slightly.

"Anna Simons!" Someone called from across the hall.

Well, think of the devil, I sighed, as I looked up to see Meryl standing in the doorway, hands on hips, angry expression and looking incredibly bossy. I stood up and offered my friends an apologetic shrug, "Sorry guys. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Dude why is Meryl searching for you at quarter to eight in the morning?" Liam asked incredulously.

"I think it's some sort of personal problem she has," I shrugged again, "Maybe she part nocturnal and has the ability to wake up at insanely early times every day,"

I headed off and followed Meryl back to her office. We went inside and took our usual places- Meryl behind the desk and me standing looking bored in front of it. Mac shuffled inside and sat down at the back of the room a few seconds later, seeming to come from pretty much nowhere and giving me further evidence that any adult of authority had some sort of magical teleporting device.

"I almost missed this place, you know? It's been like, more than twenty four hours since I was last here!" I began.

"Anna, sit down," Meryl sighed. I complied with a roll of my eyes, "What happened yesterday, Anna?"

"Is there a specific reason why you have to know?" I asked, trying to give myself enough time to think through what I probably should mention and what I could leave out.

"Anna, MI6 called through last night telling us Michael Simons and Francis Codge were possibly the same person and are traitors and spies who were giving the enemy information about MI6. They also said that Michael Simons, who might be Francis Codge, was last seen with you and Arron, escaping from MI6. That was at about five o'clock yesterday. There was then a four hour gap before you contacted Dan and told him where you were. We need to know what happened,"

I looked around the room and decided that the best thing I could do was just tell Meryl everything and hoped that she would believe me and hopefully not try to kill my Dad. Actually, on second thoughts, it wouldn't hurt to leave out exactly where Dad was planning to go, or how he was going to contact me. It was probably a good idea to leave out Peter's involvement and any suggestions that I was going to try to help my Dad out. Just in case.


	32. A Chapter In Which Stuff Happens

Chapter 96~Anna

After I explained the whole story (well, almost the whole story) to Meryl and Mac, we sat in silence for a few minutes. Meryl was evidentially thinking hard over something. Mac seemed content to wait for her brain to overwork itself and die- I mean, for Meryl to reach a decision. I was just trying to think of how I was going to tell Emma and Gabby I found Dad and lost him again. I wasn't particularly looking forward to telling anyone else, either.

"Ok, then. Anna could you wait outside for a few minutes while Mac and I talk?" Meryl ordered, in a kinda of I'll-attempt-to-sound-nice-but-I-find-that-kind-of-thing-hard-to-do-and-bossing-people-about-is-easier-to-do tone.

I got up and went out, shutting the door behind me and leaning on the wall next to it, wondering what Meryl and Mac were discussing exactly. I hoped MI6 were going to drop the whole hacking thing. I reckoned they would after all that had happened- they had a lot more to deal with right now than a fifteen year old with attitude problems. They now were going to spend all their resources hunting down the very few remaining members of Dasakota and my Dad.

I guessed I would probably have some sort of computer-based punishment. No laptop for the next few months, no unsupervised computery stuff, some sort of ICT safety talk about hacking. Something like that. On top of that I'd probably get a punishment for damaging those electric doors and I'd already got my punishment from the fire alarm and well. Mac and Meryl would probably use the excuse that the punishments involving laptops were to stop me putting myself and others at risk, or some bullshit, and give me another punishment for doing some unauthorised hacking.

Overall, I would probably be buried under punishments and restrictions from here until Christmas. Joy. Only another eight or so months to go? I sighed and leaned back against the wall, wondering if it had been worth it- all those hours I'd spent, trawling away on my laptop, all the punishments I was going to get- just to see my Dad again, even if it had only been for a few hours. It didn't really take that long for me to come up with my answer- it had. I wished Emma and Gabby had had a chance to see him too, though. Gabby was going to be furious; she was the youngest and, in the past week, had been the only one who hadn't seen or talked to one of our parents.

My train of thought crashed and burned as I was called back in to face the future punishments. I sat down and looked at Meryl expectantly. Mac was still sitting on a chair at the back of the room, and I couldn't be bothered to keep looking between the two.

"So then? Dish the dirt. What punishments have you two thought up for me this time?" I half sighed, preparing for the worst.

Meryl took a deep breath, "Anna, Mac and I have spoken briefly to MI6 this morning. They're willing to let this whole hacking thing go, just this once. So you won't be dragged back to MI6 for questioning, interviewing or otherwise and there won't be any more detectives snooping around campus. In return, at some point in the future, once MI6 have dealt with one or two loose ends, they will ask you to give a statement of sorts, describing how you hacked into MI6 and in what ways they can improve their security programme," Meryl told me.

Well, they weren't gonna get much of a statement. They thought my Dad was a spy, and, although I still wouldn't give them the full thing under other circumstances because that alone was insulting enough, I was pretty sure my Dad had given me a deliberate and not-allowed backdoor into MI6. Telling MI6 something like that would only make them even more convinced Dad was a spy. It wouldn't be helping anyone.

Meryl had more to say though, and wasn't waiting to see if my brain was keeping up, "But MI6 have got to be sure that you will not do it again, Anna, and there's no easy way of doing that. You can promise all you like, and we could promise for you, but promises won't change that you still could and still might hack into MI6. So I'm afraid you're going to have to forfeit a few rights of privacy. Anything you do on you user on the computers or laptops here will be monitored and if you use the ICT room then you will have to have an adult supervising you,"

I started a protest over that- I did not want an adult stalking my emails!- but Meryl just talked right over me, "We can't really do much about your laptop apart from confiscate it until you leave CHERUB, but since you share it with Emma, we can't really do that."

Thank God Emma and I hadn't mentioned that Emma had kinda given me official ownership of the laptop and started using the ones we were given in our rooms.

"Mac and I have gone over this part again and again, and we have decided not to give you any punishments for your actions. We both think that the restrictions are punishment enough. However, Mac and I also don't think that it's a breach in MI6's security that we should be worrying about. We think that, after last night's events, there is more likely to be a breach in our own security," Meryl looked me in the eye, long and hard, driving the next few sentences home, "We all know you haven't given us the whole truth of what happened last night. Giving in meekly is not exactly your way, Anna. We don't expect you to tell us the rest of what happened, but you must understand why we are going to be cautious about this,"

I frowned, trying to figure out exactly what that meant. I was guessing it probably had something more to do with forfeiting some privacy or whatever. Brilliant. Just what I needed.

"We don't want you sneaking out of campus every other night and putting yourself at risk and accidentally exposing CHERUB. We can't risk that, and, well, we can't risk others trying to follow your example, so..." Meryl paused. I waited for the bomb to drop, "So we're going to ban you from going outside of campus and arrange for someone to keep an eye on you,"

I froze, understating instantly, "You mean you're going to arrange for someone to stalk my every move and report back anything suspicious I do? Yeah, I would say that is forfeiting quite a few rights of privacy. How about all of them?"

How the heck was I going to work out how to free my Dad of blame if I couldn't bloody sneeze without alerting Mac and Meryl? Bloody fantastic. Brilliant. The MI6 thing was bad enough- I'd been having some vague ideas that because they weren't bothering me, and because Dad had, by now, disabled any traps left around, I could hack back into MI6 and delete any suspicious or incriminating evidence lying around- but this was bullshit.

"Anna, could you look me in the eye and tell me honestly that there was no chance at all of you sneaking off campus every few nights to try and help your Dad somehow?" Meryl demanded.

I glared at her for a few seconds, and looked away. Her and Mac had been honest with me, and they'd been forgiving enough to not kick me out of CHERUB or give me a billion trillion laps everyday for the next century- although the 'precautions' they'd decided upon were almost as bad- the least I could do was be honest back.

"No. I couldn't," I muttered reluctantly.

"And that's why we're doing this, Anna. It'll only be temporary, since you'll be in Basic Training soon. After that, it might continue for a few more months, but by the end of the year you'll be a slightly less restricted teenager again," Mac 'reassured' me.

Not that the news was very reassuring at all. I'd basically gone from a locked room in MI6 to house arrest with my own personal guard back on CHERUB campus. There wasn't really all that much difference. At least at MI6 I'd only had to put up with a jailer every half hour. This would be constant, ever waking minute stalking.

"What if I absolutely refuse to go along with the whole stalking thing?" I asked. I'd told Meryl and Mac I couldn't promise I wouldn't run off and I understood why she was doing everything, but understanding and agreeing are entirely different words.

"You don't get a choice over it, Anna," Meryl warned, sensing me trying to find a point to argue over, "It's happening, and you'll just have to put up with it until things settle down,"

"You make it sound like such fun, Meryl," I told her dryly, "Can I have something to vomit in?"

"I'm not going to sugar coat it for you, Anna," Meryl sighed, "So don't expect me to. This is what's going to happen and you'll just have to deal with it, no matter how much you might hate that,"

I sat in stony silence. I couldn't _believe _this was happening!

"We'll have sorted it out by tomorrow. Until then, I expect you can behave yourself and stay out of trouble," Mac finished off.

"Fine," I snapped, standing up, "I take I can go then? Or do you need me to tell you exactly where I'll be the whole day so I can't give you the slip?"

"That won't be necessary," Meryl said dismissively.

I stomped out like the grumpy childish girl I am.

* * *

><p>Chapter 97<p>

"Hey! I've just gotta phone my sister back! She called a few minutes ago for some reason, and she gets really paranoid and thinks I've died or something if I don't answer," Tam told Nathaniel.

It was at about ten in the morning and Tam had dropped in at Nathaniel's house, since it was Saturday and neither of them had anything to do.

"Ok. Say hi to her for me, will you?" Nathaniel muttered, in the middle of rescuing his laptop from under a pile of chocolate bar wrappers and school books that he'd dumped on the floor.

By the time Nathaniel looked up again, Tam was gone. He really wasn't exaggerating about his sister then, Nathaniel thought to himself as he set his laptop on his desk. He turned to find a socket to plug it in at, but frowned when he spotted Tam's backpack plonked on the floor, forgotten. Tam's phone was in plain sight, right on top of it.

Nathaniel frowned and picked it up, "Hey, Tam!" He called as he started out of his room. But he couldn't see Tam anywhere.

Nathaniel frowned and turned the phone on, wondering if it would be easier to find Tam or to just wait until he came back and admitted he'd forgotten it. Nathaniel had had almost exactly the same phone as Tam's current one, and knew how to use it well, so he didn't have any trouble finding the missed calls. He could probably just find the missed call from Tam's sister a few minutes ago and redial or whatever.

Except, as far as Nathaniel could see, there hadn't _been _a missed call. Tam hadn't had a missed call for over three days! Nathaniel frowned suspiciously, but shook his head. Maybe Tam meant that she'd texted him, he reasoned. But there weren't any texts from his sister that had been sent a few minutes ago, either.

Nathaniel frowned again. It wasn't exactly as if Tam was deleting the text messages- he had plenty off one guy- someone called Dean. Which was weird, because Tam had never mentioned being friends with someone called Dean. Then again, he never seemed to really want to talk about himself- said he was a loner; his life wasn't really very interesting, apparently. But if he'd been a loner, who was Dean, and why did he seem to have _loads _of messages off him.

Nathaniel glanced at the door, worried that Tam might arrive back and think he was being nosy- which he was, really. He should just ask Tam about the whole text/phone call thing when he got back. He really should. But what if Tam refused to answer his question? He probably wouldn't get another chance like this again.

Nathaniel, frowned, then gave in and selected the first message in Tam's inbox- another one from Dean. He read the message and nearly dropped the phone, frowning in confusion and surprise.

_Yo, Lee, wats up? How's the mission going? Haha hope ur enjoying school while the rest of campus is off on holiday. It's good 2 know u aren't having more fun than us over there in where eva u r. Just hurry up with this whole shit about Nathaniel's Dad, tho, b/c campus is boring when u only hav Jordan 2 hang out wiv. God he doesn't half talk!_

_Cya soon, Dean =)_

Looking around the room, he quickly forwarded the text to his own phone, and switched Tam's phone off, before putting the phone back where he'd left it and trying to act casual. He didn't really think he wanted to read any more of the messages if they were as confusing as that.

Who was Lee? Nathaniel presumed it was Tam. But why would someone who was obviously one of Tam's friends call him Lee? Had Tam lied about his name or something?

Or maybe Lee is his real name, and he's lied to you, Nathaniel thought. But how would he have been able to fake his name, if it was on all the registers and all the teachers called him Tam. Maybe Lee was his real name, but he preferred Tam. Then again, most of the time when people did that, it took the teachers some time to adjust to calling a student another name. Plus, this Dean guy was obviously a friend, so why would he call Tam Lee if he knew Tam didn't like it?

And then, what mission was he going on about? Tam (or Lee) wasn't on a mission! Mission indicated stuff like spies and secret identities and gadgets. Nathaniel was pretty sure that Tam did not have awesome secret gadgets like jetpack backpacks or whatever.

And what was the rubbish about Nathaniel's Dad? Why would Tam be interested in Nathaniel's Dad? And where was campus? Tam had never mentioned any campus on his incredibly brief life story. Then again, he'd also failed to mention that he had a friend called Dean.

Tam sighed, confused and pulled out his phone to check he'd gotten the forwarded text message off Lee. He'd show it to his Dad later, when Tam had left. Maybe, since the message did talk about his Dad, he'd know what it was going on about. If not, Nathaniel would confront Tam about it tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Lee grinned to himself as he left the house later that day. It was lunch time, and he was hungry, but he'd had a successful morning. He'd managed to plant two bugs in Nathaniel's Dad's study, and various other ones all around the house, without anyone knowing or spotting him.<p>

Sure, Nathaniel had been acting a bit weird and twitchy for quite a lot of the morning, which had made things feel slightly awkward, but Lee was feeling quite pleased with himself overall. It had been a good morning.

He made his way back to his own house and grinned at Mel as he came through the door, "Any visitors?" He asked, double checking before he said anything.

"Nope. Chloe's upstairs and Emma's 'out' somewhere. No clue where, to be honest, but she's not here. No visitors and we're not expecting anyone, unless Emma brings some friends home," Mel brought Lee up to date.

"I planted the bugs. Hopefully we'll get some interesting information out of them," Lee grinned, "If not, I can always try again,"

Mel rolled her eyes at him, "Don't get too cocky about it, _Tam_. You'll just look like an idiot if you screw up,"

Lee shrugged and dunked his bag on the floor, rifling through it and producing his phone. He switched it on and grinned at Mel, "I took some pictures when I arrived, so that we've got a good layout of the house,"

"We should show them to Chloe too," Mel warned.

"Uh huh, in a minute," Lee muttered vaguely. His phone vibrated a few times and a notice popped up on it saying _Message Sent!_

Lee frowned, confused- he hadn't sent any messages to anyone recently. Hurriedly, he thought back to where his phone had been all of the day, when he'd last used it and who else might have had it. He froze, trying to remember whether or not he'd taken it with him when he'd told Nathaniel he was ringing 'his sister'. He hadn't. He cursed and checked his sent mail quickly.

Mel had noticed his worried expression, "What is it?"

"I may have done something highly incredibly stupid," Lee groaned.

Mel grabbed the phone off him, frowning, and saw the text message, "Um, A) why the hell has Dean got your number, B) why didn't you delete that message as soon as you'd read it, you moron, and C) why is it in your _sent _inbox?"

"I didn't send that. I left my phone in Nathaniel's room when I went to plant the listening devices. I told him I was ringing you," Lee said shortly.

"...Crap," Mel muttered, rereading the message, "We might need to tell Chloe about this,"

"Tell me about what?" Chloe asked from the stairs.

Mel and Lee glanced at each other, both of them waiting for the other to tell her. Finally, Lee produced his phone, with the message.

Chloe took it off him and read it. She looked up, "Where's Emma? We may have a problem."


	33. Breaking The News

Chapter 98~Emma

"-Bloody fucking stalking my every fucking move from here until Christmas!" Anna grumbled on the other side of the phone, after a _lot _of explaining.

"That sucks for you, Anna, but I'm not really that sympathetic right now," I admitted distractedly, "You're lucky Meryl let you off with that, and you're not being stalked all of the time _as well _as having to gazillions of laps every day. And you could've been expelled! Kicked out of CHERUB! Anything, to be quite frank. So I don't see the point in you moaning over it all. You can have an a hundred day break from being stalked when you do Basic Training. Fall out a couple of times and you can have even longer!" I hinted.

"No! No way am I failing out if you managed to do it all first time!" Anna replied instantly, sounding even more huffy now.

"Well, that's your decision, not mine, so don't go complaining to me!" I retorted, "Anyway, what's Dad going to do now?"

"Oh! I forgot to tell you! He's going to America! He's gonna sort stuff out a bit with Mum and figure out what to do from there!" Anna told me cheerfully, forgetting her previous grumpiness.

"What? When?" I demanded excitedly, "How will he get here?"

"He headed off last night, aiming to catch a plane over and arrive some time overnight. It takes six or seven hours to get over, and he left at two this morning at the latest. So, in England time, he would've arrived in America around... eight or nine? But then, he probably couldn't get a flight directly to you at such short notice, and probably wants to take a roundabout route in case someone was following him. So I'd say add another five hours at a random guess, so... three or four o'clock-ish in the afternoon. Complete guess of course, then take away the um... how many hours difference is there?" Anna worked out.

"Um... six? Eight? Something around that number," I tried to remember.

"Ok, so, if it's six hours, it would be around ten-ish? And eight hours, it would be around eight-ish?" Anna suggested, "Which means he might have arrived. But he might be stuck in traffic, on a plane that's delayed, basically anywhere. I don't really know,"

"I hope he has arrived," I sighed, "I really want to see him again- it's been absolutely _ages_!"

"Once he's there give him a bloody big telling off. I never really did get the whole way through my lecture in the end..." Anna sighed.

"I think Dad'll take that as a good thing, Anna," I laughed, "A very, _very_ good thing,"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, where the hell are you right now?" Anna asked, changing the subject.

"I'm on my way out to meet Lola. I suppose I can give her the good news. I might as well, since she's gonna need to get some sort of space prepared- her house is tiny. I went over the other day and it's unbelievably titch," I told Anna.

I heard a slight noise of disgust from Anna and sighed. Anna was all for sorting out our family, but it was going to take her a _long _time to realise that Lola wasn't the same person she had been.

"Get used to hearing about her, Anna. If you want this whole perfect family thing, you've got to put up with her being around," I warned her.

"I'm not expecting or even hoping for a perfect family. A half-way decent one that was all together would be brilliant, though," Anna snapped angrily.

"Ok, ok, calm down," I tutted, "I'm just saying,"

"Well don't. Shut up and stop being annoying. If you're gonna play the whole elder sibling shit, at least don't piss me off further with the patronising tone. You know I can't stick stuck up people who call themselves my elders and think that's the only reason I should need to worship their very presence,"

I looked up and spotted Lola up ahead, leaning against a wall, at the edge of an alleyway, "Yeah, don't we all? Anyway, I've gotta go now. Look, I'll call you back later, ok? I'll let you know what's going on up here,"

I snapped my phone shut as I arrived in front of Lola, and grinned, "Hi again,"

Lola smiled back and gave me a hug, "Good to see you again. Who were you just talking to?"

"Anna. She had quite a bit to say, I can warn you," I told her.

Lola nodded and gave a slightly wistful smile, "I wish I didn't have work here. I wish I could come back to England. I miss the countryside- not that I went anywhere near it mostly- and I miss the good old English weather,"

"What? Rain every other day and a permanent cloudy sky?" I asked teasingly.

"You know what I mean," Lola smiled. She seemed to gather her wits again, and she beamed at me, "Anna might have told you, but I have a visitor,"

I gawped, "Dad's here? Like, now?"

"Well what did you expect? I couldn't exactly drop by without saying hello, could I?" A voice came from inside the alley.

I whirled around to see my Dad walking forwards grinning. I flung myself at him.

"Oh my God! Dad! I wasn't sure you'd arrived yet!" I cried, delighted.

"Sneaking in and out of countries seems to be one of my talents," Dad sighed, "So, what's been happening to you lately? I've no doubt you've heard everything about me from Anna,"

Lola produced a house key, "Come on, I've got enough space for the three of us to sit and have a cup of tea for half an hour or so," She told the two of us.

* * *

><p>I had barely finished telling Mum and Dad everything when my phone rang. I looked at them apologetically and answered it.<p>

"Emma, where are you?" It was Mel.

"I'm at my Mum's house, why?" I asked, deciding it might be a good idea to leave out any mention of Dad.

"Um... there might have been a slight problem," Mel muttered reluctantly.

"What's happened?" I demanded.

"Lee was being a moron and he left a couple of stupid texts messages on his phone, which he left in full view of Nathaniel when he went over to his house earlier," Mel filled me in, sounding a mixture of _really _annoyed (probably at Lee) and very frustrated.

"How much do you think he figured out from it?" I continued my questioning.

"Well, it mentioned Nathaniel's Dad, a mission, 'campus' and Lee's name. And that's just the one that Lee found in his sent inbox- forwarded onto Nathaniel's mobile. We don't know whether he read some of the others and didn't bother forwarding them or not, but the chances are, Nathaniel will have shown his Dad the message, and it sounds like enough to make them suspicious," Mel sighed, "Chloe's in a right state. We don't know how much damaged it's caused, so we don't know if we should abandon the mission or not. We were planning so hard for this!" She growled, frustrated.

"So what are we going to do?" I presumed she was ringing me for a reason, and not just waiting for me to arrive back to tell me.

"Chloe's got Lee listening to the bugs, to try and pick up anything, and she wants us all to pack up most of our stuff, just in case we need to go. We'll wait two days and if we can't pick up any signs of them being suspicious, we'll go back to normal, however, the first sign that we're in trouble and Chloe's booking on the next plane out of here. In the meantime, she doesn't want you meeting up with Sophie right now. If you've got anything arranged, you'll have to fake an illness or something," There was a pause, and I heard another voice on the other end of the line, talking to Mel, then Mel was back again, "Chloe says you should come back as quickly as possible."

"Um... Ok, I'll see you in half an hour or so," I muttered, ringing off. I looked up to see both of my parents sitting calmly, waiting for me to finish my conversation, but both looking curious.

I made a face, "Lee might have blown our cover. Chloe wants me back, and if they start acting suspiciously, we're leaving immediately,"

Both of them seemed to understand that it might be the last time I saw them for quite a while. I got a massive hug from both of them.

"We'll hopefully see you soon. If not, look after yourself, and try to stop Anna from getting into trouble. Gabby and Arron won't be too much trouble, I don't think," Dad smiled.

"Be careful. Don't get hurt," Lola told me.

I smiled sadly, "I will. I've gotta go, sorry,"

I set off and a while later arrived back at the house to find everyone in a flurry of activity. Chloe and Mel were running everywhere, demanding to know where various items were. Chloe spotted me arriving.

"Ah! Emma! There you are! Right, I need you to pack everything but the essentials, so that we can go very quickly if we need to!"

I nodded and headed upstairs. I pulled out my suitcase from the bottom of the wardrobe and started pulling my clothes out. Folding them one at a time, I started packing. Once I'd got the majority of my clothes in my suitcase, I started packing up my phone charger, my books and all my various items of entertainment.

I was halfway through this task when a shout came from the study. I heard a rush of people (well, only two- Chloe and Mel) on the landing and more commotion, and discarded my stuff to see what was going on. I found a severely disgruntled Mel and a put off Lee. Chloe had already disappeared again. I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

"Nathaniel showed his Dad the message. His Dad was halfway to setting out to murder us in our sleep before he got out of range of the listening device," Lee said bitterly, looking every bit like a grumpy seven year old being told off, "We're being sent home,"

* * *

><p>Chapter 99~Anna<p>

I was lying on my bed in a state of pissed off-ness when Karlie and arrived at my door. They didn't bother knocking and evidentially weren't scared of my furious move, since they decided to stay. I'd rang Emma earlier to vent frustration and to let her know I was ok, but mostly I'd just got more pissed off because she seemed to pretty much agree with Meryl and Mac. I did not need that right now. Right now I need a tad bit of sympathy.

"So, what're you doing sulking up here for?" Karlie asked nonchalantly as the two of them sat on the edge of my bed.

I sat up, "If you value your life and agree with what Meryl and Mac has decided, don't for fucks sake tell me. I'm pissed off enough as it is,"

Karlie raised an eyebrow, "So, what's your punishment?"

"I got let off, actually. In return, I'm not allowed on a computer apart from my laptop without adult supervision, and everything I do on it will be monitored. I'm currently banned from going outside of CHERUB and 'until things settle down' someone is going to be personally escorting me everywhere to make sure I don't run off,"

Dan frowned and Karlie nodded to herself, "So, tell us- while Elizabeth's not around- what happened yesterday?" she demanded, not in a tell-me-before-I-die-of-suspense kinda way, but in a tell-me-before-you-implode-from-too-much-rage.

I took a deep breath, "I found my Dad," Karlie and Dan's jaws dropped. "Oh don't look so surprised! I've been searching for him for months! I was going to find him sooner or later!"

"Um, that's kinda the point, Anna- you've been searching for months. We weren't exactly expecting it, really," Dan shrugged.

"Well I guess we all got surprised. I wasn't really expecting him to leave straight after I'd found him," I shrugged.

Dan and Karlie looked at each other. "I guess that explains that bad mood, then," Karlie noted.

"No shit." I muttered.

"So what exactly happened?" Dan asked finally.

I sighed and explained it slowly to them, trying not to miss anything out.

"So, Peter rang Dad later on and said Karp is convinced that he's a traitor and has got MI5, MI6 and the police and basically everyone out looking for him. Apparently, your considered highly dangerous if you work in MI5 or 6 and have gone rogue," I finished, then frowned, "You know, Dad never did actually mention who the _real _spy was,"

"Never mind that! What are you gonna do about all of this?" Karlie demanded.

"Didn't I just tell you my 'non-punishments'?" I grumbled defensively.

Karlie looked at me an arched eyebrow and a sceptical look, "And you're seriously gonna let Meryl and Mac stop you from helping out your Dad?"

I got up off my bed and the phone Dad had given me, "He- or Peter- is supposed to ring me at some point and tell me what the hell is going on. Right now he's either in, or on his way to America. He's gonna be staying with my Mum for a few days until he can sort something out for the next few months," I frowned and added on, "I don't know how much Peter'll be able to help, though. He'll get a lot of suspicion from work, what with Michael and him being work partners and both of our families knowing each other quite well,"

Karlie coughed, "But what are you planning to do, Anna. Because I don't quite believe you're gonna sit back and take this,"

She was right. I probably wasn't. But how exactly was I gonna _not _'sit back and take it'? Tia up anyone who attempted to stalk me and lock them in a cupboard? It wouldn't exactly change anything for more than a few hours.

"I don't know. I'm not doing nothing, but what exactly can I do, Karlie?" I sighed. And yes, I am not above taking advice from someone several years younger than me, "Whoever is 'escorting' me or whatever, is starting tomorrow. So what the hell do I do? Run away?"

Karlie's looked at me expectantly, "If you were going to, now would be the time to do. It's harder to run away when someone's watching your every move,"

"I can't even believe this is legal or whatever," I grumbled, "Surely there's something against this kinda shit,"

"They can do it for protection and all that. And sometimes they have people trailing civilians if they think that they're criminals or something," Dan told me.

"Not exactly helping, Dan. And are you _seriously _suggesting I run away from CHERUB?" I asked Karlie.

Karlie shrugged, "What exactly are you gonna do here? Organize a phone call schedule? You can't go off campus, you can't sneak off campus. If you use your computer in the day, doubtless someone will be watching. I don't think there's a lot you can do here. Off campus, with no one watching your every move, you could do whatever you liked. You can sneak into MI6. You could _hack _into MI6 again. You could do _something_!"

I frowned again. Karlie did have a point...

"Wait! No, no no no! You can't just run off! What would you do if you could? Camp out?" Dan exclaimed, seeing I might seriously be considering it.

Before any of us could speak again, my phone rang. The one Dad had given me. I looked at the other two and grabbed it. "Hello?" I asked anxiously.

"Anna? It's Peter."

"Oh, hi Peter. What's up? Why are you calling me?"

"Well your Dad just called me for a start- Emma's on her way back home," Peter began.

"Emma's coming back? Already? Why?" I reeled off my questions.

"I think their mission cover was blown. They couldn't stay there any longer. She's on a plane home right now," Peter sighed.

"Damn it. Hang on- my Dad's reached Atlantis City then?"

"Yeah. Look, Anna, I know this is a lot to ask, but your Dad's being really paranoid- he doesn't want to say anything major over the phone, even though I'm positive the line's secure. But either way, he can't say much, and when he went he had to travel light, so he couldn't take much from the apartment he was staying in. Only you and Arron know where it is- I don't and Michael can't tell me. But even if I did, I couldn't go there. I think I'll be under surveillance for the next few weeks, so if I went then everyone would know instantly where it was. We need to try and get any papers or information that Michael didn't take with him and keep it somewhere safe. I hate to ask this after yesterday, but... could you try and sneak out and go there?"

Great timing. Brilliant, "Um, I've just been put under house arrest, Peter. No visits to the outside world and I'm being personally escorted everywhere as of tomorrow," I informed Peter.

"Oh... not good," Peter muttered, "When are you free again?"

"Not any time soon. Sorry. Is there any way you can get through to Arron?" I asked, hating that I couldn't do anything.

"Yes, but he won't be able to do anything any time soon. I have to take him in for an official interview over what happened yesterday, and, since he doesn't live in a secure and secret facility, he's under surveillance too so he wouldn't be able to drop by. It would only be you. I'm really sorry, but we need to get those papers destroyed or somewhere safe. If MI6 finds them, it would only make them more suspicious of Michael. Is there any way you could sneak out and get them?"

"I can do it, but you realise if I sneak out I'm probably going to be locked up with extra tight surveillance for the rest of my life?" I sighed.

Karlie and Dan were glaring suspiciously.

"Not if you don't come back. At least, not until everything is over," Karlie told me quietly, obviously grasping vaguely at what was going on.

"Are you insane?" Dan hissed at her, "She would be in even _more _trouble when she came back eventually! She could get kicked out of CHERUB or anything!"

"But she'd have her Dad back and a family again," Karlie pointed out.

I blocked them out, concentrating on Peter, trying to ignore the plan that was forming at the back of my mind. Dan was right- I could get chucked out for running off from campus.

"Look, I'm not going to push you any way- this is your choice to make. I just need to know whether or not I have to get Arron to go in and destroy the stuff. He can't take any of it- MI6 would search him and find it probably,"

"How important is the stuff in there?" I asked, calculatingly.

"Very important. It's all Michael's research from over the past few months. All his notes on everything, really," Peter sighed.

I took a deep breath and looked back at Dan and Karlie, still arguing furiously over it. Dan _was _right, but so was Karlie. If I sorted this stuff out- and I could do a lot more off campus than I could on it- then I could get my Dad back and maybe Mum, too.

"Fine. I'll do it," I said finally, "I'll try to, anyway,"

"Thank you, Anna," Peter told me.

"Least I can do. I'll ring you later to let you know if I managed it or not," I promised, then hung up.

Karlie and Dan had overheard my last words and were staring at me. I dropped my phone on my bed and pulled my massive camping rucksack out from under the wardrobe, where I'd stuffed it previously.

"I always knew this would come in handy someday," I muttered, grabbing clothes from out of my wardrobe. I was lucky enough that I'd never had enough money, or the desire to spend so much money on clothes, so I could fit pretty much all of them in. At the same time, I grabbed my laptop and charger and the phone Dad had given me. I put the laptop in its protective case thingie, then slid it into my rucksack.

"Anna, you _can't _be serious!" Dan exclaimed, "What happens when you come back? What if Mac expels you or whatever? And how do you think Gabby, Emma and Arron are gonna feel about this,"

"If I can sort our family out, I'm not really too bothered what the hell they think," I said shortly, looking around the room. Alarm clock, maybe, I thought. Food! And I'd need money too... probably some camping stuff but I was seriously hoping I'd be able to get a room in a bed and breakfast or something.

I looked up at Karlie, to see what she thought, "You gonna help me think up a way to escape?"

Karlie grinned, "I hate to break it to you, but you've missed out on any sort of planning- I already have a way out,"

Dan and I looked at her in surprise and she shrugged, "What? CHERUB's nice and all, but I prioritize. Burning down houses that belong to Dasakota is far more interesting than doing a hundred days of Basic Training. I had to go at some point and if you use my way out, then they'll find it and stop anyone else from getting through and my escape route would be gone. So it's now or never I suppose. I would've stayed maybe a bit longer otherwise, but it's not like I can't come back at some point and attempt to stay here again,"

"Karlie- you're insane!" I gawped, "You've been planning on running off all this time? You're kidding me right? Why would you want to run off from here?"

"For the same reason you're going to run off from here. You have a family, so you're doing your best to sort it out. I had a family, and so I'm gonna do my best to get the hell back at the people who killed them. Nothing's stopping you, and I've done this shit before, so why the hell should anything stop me?" Karlie reasoned.

I couldn't argue with her- she had a point. Dan was looking on at us in horror, "_Both _of you are insane!" He exclaimed.

"No, just both of us still have things to sort out from a previous life. CHERUB might give everyone the chance to start a new life, but sometimes people have an old life they need to set straight first," Karlie retorted, "Anyway, if you're gonna go today, you'll need me to show you the way out. I'll meet you back here in an hour?" I nodded and Karlie raced off.

"Anna! You can't actually be serious?" Dan snapped, glaring furiously at me, "You can't seriously do this! Stop and _think _for a second, will you!"

Before I could reply, Elizabeth, Tom, Andrew and Liam burst into my room.

"We just heard that you've got back from the interrogation" Elizabeth exclaimed.

There was a second of silence as they took in the backpack on the bed and my hurriedly packed stuff, then Dan glaring at me.

"Um...What the hell is that?" Liam asked, pointing at my rucksack.

I ignored them, and just looked Dan, feeling stressed and just ready to sit down and cry, or punch a wall. Did he seriously think I wouldn't rather stay here? It was my Dad out there, though, and I couldn't just stand by if I could do something to help. I looked at the others, "I know where my Dad is," I said shortly.

"That's great," Elizabeth told me, arms crossed, "But it still doesn't explain _that_,"

I gave up, "Ok then, how about this? MI6 also have found my Dad. They think he was the spy in MI6 that has been passing information to Dasakota for years. The whole freaking country is after him, right at the moment I found him. So I'm going to sort it all out. I am going to prove him innocent, catch the real spy and kick the hell out of both of them. And it's gonna be kinda hard to do any of that from here, whilst having every single moved watched." Silence. The others gawped at me.

Finally, Dan snapped out of it, "Fine. I'm coming with you,"

"What? No! You can't ruin _your _CHERUB career just because Karlie and I am," I replied immediately.

"You didn't stop Karlie. I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," Dan said in a steely voice, "Besides," He added, slightly more lightly, "You're gonna need _some _help. When was the last time you even looked at a map?"

"Fine! Fine! You can come!" I groaned, then looked at the others, "You guys, don't tell anyone a _thing _of what just went on here. You don't know where we've gone, or why, ok? I never told you anything?"

They all nodded, still silent and looking slightly shocked. I looked around my room and grabbed my normal phone, shoving it in Andrew's hands, "If Emma rings, tell her sorry I couldn't ring her. CHERUB aren't exactly gonna be pleased to have three runaways on their hands, and they'll probably try tracing my calls from that phone. Just don't spend all my credit, will you? Emma's coming back today too. Damn. Better go before she slaughters me. Look, tell her I'll get in contact with her, ok?" I asked. Andrew agreed, and I shoved them towards the door, "You were never here!"

Dan looked at them, then at me, "I'd better start packing then, if Karlie's meeting you back here in an hour?"

* * *

><p><strong>WHOOO! Nearly finished the story now- just the epilogue left =)<strong>


	34. Epilogue: Departures

So... The final... does an epilogue count as a chapter? im not really sure. Oh well, for the sake of what im about to say, its a chapter. Its the final chapter! im debating whether or not to keep on rambling so you have to read this rather than whats underneath, just to annoy you.

I read a book called Unwind by Neal Shusterman the other day. It was awesomely immense, you know? I'd read the Skinjacker Trilogy, another three books of his, some time ago, and they were absolutely immensly amazingly beyond all possible awesomeness. You should read them. Seriously.

Anwho, moving on, I'll shut up now =)

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

Lola and Michael stood together, watching from a distance as Emma headed off to catch her plane, with the other CHERUB agents. Lola looked on worriedly. She didn't like that all three of her daughters were involved with spying and under cover missions. It had ruined her life. She didn't want it to ruin their lives. But right now, there wasn't much she could do about it.

Michael wrapped his arm around her waist "She'll be fine. They all will. We'll sort this all out," He promised.

He knew that whatever happened, that he could rely on his own children. Arron would help out the girls when he could and doubtless still be able to achieve straight A's in his exams and Michael was confident that Emma would keep the family together while he and Lola were in America- she'd already proved she was capable, having gotten all four of them through the past few months relatively unscathed. He hoped Anna would find the spy within MI6 and prove him innocent. She would try her best and not give up when it got hard- a trait she wouldn't be best pleased to realise she'd inherited from _both _of her parents. But it would be Gabby, he knew, that would have the hardest time of all four children. She was the youngest and would have to put up with everyone bossing her about, and all three of her older siblings would be helping out somehow, and not letting her.

He and Lola would work together here, in America, to figure out what would happen after things had settled down, and to lend a hand- and several pieces of private information- to their kids. He was so proud of the four of them. He smiled down at Lola consolingly, "They'll be fine," He repeated.

Michael knew that things would turn out alright in the end, no matter how it ended.

* * *

><p>Arron looked across the classroom to see Peter Kenedy waiting by the door. His hand shot up, "Miss, my uncle's here now, can I go?"<p>

The teacher nodded and waved dismissively. Arron gathered up his school books and shoved them in his bag, heading to the door. MI6 wanted to interview him about what had happened, but that didn't mean the whole world needed to know.

The school thought he was going to a family funeral because a great aunt or some distant relative had died, and that his uncle was picking him up. They were kind of right- Peter was an uncle of sorts to Arron.

Once outside the classroom, he turned to Peter, "What happened to Anna? Is she ok? Do you know what punishment Mac and Meryl came up with for her?" He asked in a rush, as they made their way out of the building.

"I figured you'd ask that. After MI6, we're heading over to CHERUB campus anyway. I need to go as a peacemaker and apologise for Karp's stony behaviour, so I figured you wouldn't mind tagging along to see your sisters too. Emma's coming home, you know," Peter told Arron.

"Really? I thought she was on a mission?" Arron frowned.

Peter nodded, "But their cover was blown, so they had to go in a hurry. It's probably best not to mention it to her," He suggested, as he stopped next to a random car in the parking lot. He fished out his keys and pressed the button to unlock the doors.

"Well at least she's back home safe," Arron sighed.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth stood in shock for a few minutes, looking out of her window, in her room. Then she turned and faced the others.<p>

"None of us," She said forcefully, glaring at each one of the others in turn, "Knows where they've gone. They didn't tell us a thing, got it?"

Tom, Andrew and Liam nodded. Lilly, Tess, Raine and Jonah shrugged, as if to say 'we _don't _know where they've gone, but do you seriously think we would if we did?'

"If _anyone_ tells Meryl, Mac or anybody else what is going on, you'll have to deal with the rest of us," Elizabeth continued, "That includes you, Liam. You might severely dislike Anna, but Dan's your best friend. Not only that, you spill, we're all screwed. Emma will personally strangle you to death and I don't even want to see what Anna and Karlie will do to you,"

Liam nodded reluctantly, admitting that he was screwed if he attempted to sabotage Anna's plans.

Elizabeth glared around the room once more, and then added, "We all might have no family outside of CHERUB, but Anna and Emma do. You want them to end up as orphans too? No. So we're gonna help them out anyway we can. And we start with not breathing a single word of this to anyone. No matter how hard that might be," Elizabeth ordered, knowing how hard that would be for her. She was going to have a very hard time for the next... however long it took Anna, Karlie and Dan to get back.

* * *

><p>Gabby and Flo scowled at Anna and Dan.<p>

"You're leaving?" Gabby demanded.

Anna shrugged, "Yup, pretty much,"

"You're running away from CHERUB?" Flo stood up, glaring at Dan.

"Look, we're not going to be gonna forever. We'll be back really soon. It's just gonna be a while, and once we've sorted things out, we'll come straight back," Dan promised.

"Oh yeah?" Gabby snapped, trying to sound like Anna did when she was grumpy, "When?"

Dan and Anna looked at each other worriedly. So they didn't know. Gabby crossed her arms sulkily, "So you're just gonna leave us here on our own?"

Anna crouched down next to her, so they were level with each other. Anna always did that, when she was being serious, Gabby knew. She liked that- it meant that Anna wasn't brushing her off because she was younger. She _hated _it when people did that.

"Gabby, I am _not _leaving you forever, got that? I _am _coming back, so don't think otherwise. I've got to sort out a few things, but then, I'll be back. Besides," She added lightly, "Emma's coming back sometime today!"

Gabby perked up, "Really?"

Anna nodded, "Uh huh, so you're not gonna be on your own, are you?"

Gabby saw what Anna was trying to do and glared at her. She was not going to be convinced into not telling anyone where Anna and Dan were going. She was adamant about that. No. She was not going to let Anna run away either. No more people were going to go missing. Not now. Not after Mum and Dad.

But Anna had, in her nice, blunt and non-patronising way, told her she was helping Dad get back home without being arrested, and Emma had already found Mum, only, Mum was working abroad currently, and couldn't come back home for a while. Which was fine with Anna. And Gabby wasn't all that fussed about Mum. But she would have liked Mum to be home.

"Gabby, I am going either way. Would you rather I run off knowing I could rely on you and that you would be ok, or that I run off and spend my whole time worrying about you?" Anna demanded.

Gabby scowled to herself. Why did Anna have to leave just as Emma was coming back? Why was it that the two of them were hardly ever around together anymore? None of the family was! Gabby was aware that Dan and Flo were having a reasonably similar conversation next to her.

"Gabby, _please_, just this once, then it will _never _happen again, I _promise_," Anna swore.

At least she'd said goodbye, Gabby reasoned with herself. Anna must've known how Gabby would've reacted and had still come to say goodbye. And she _had _said please and asked nicely.

"Fine. But you owe me all the chocolate bars you have and when you come back you have to clean out Sybil's cage for five whole months!" Gabby demanded.

Anna winced, "Ow, ok fine! I agree! Just... why? Why the hamster?"

Gabby shrugged, "I don't like cleaning,"

* * *

><p><strong>Anna<strong>

"Are you sure you want to do this, Anna, once we're out of here, there's no turning back. At least not without facing insane punishments and house arrest for the next five years. Or quitting CHERUB altogether," Dan warned again.

We were standing in front of a part of the fence where there wasn't a single security camera in sight, and there was a massive gaping hole big enough to walk straight through as long as we ducked slightly...

I took a deep breath and turned to Karlie, "Are you sure you'll be alright out there by yourself?" I asked, unable to stop myself from worrying about her.

Karlie rolled her eyes and tutted, "I spent more time on the run that you have Anna, so quit worrying about me. I have my contacts, and I know how to get by. I've done it all before. Besides, it won't take me that long to finish off Dasakota since MI6 got the majority of them locked up in the first place- it might take you years to prove your Dad innocent,"

"Thanks for the confidence booster," Dan muttered dryly.

Karlie shrugged, "You don't have to like it for it to be true,"

"Fair enough," I sighed.

I bit my lip, as I turned back to the fence. Family comes first. That was my motto. Always. I was leaving Gabby behind, though, and, in a way, Arron. And I was even leaving Emma behind- I couldn't really ring her up. My phone was too traceable to be of any use to me. I'd need to find another way to contact her.

Dan knew what I was thinking, "The second you walk out of here, you're gonna lose contact with every last one of them. There'll be no one we can talk to or rely on for help,"

"And yet you still want to come with me?" I asked, unable to look him in the eye. I might not like the fact that Dan was screwing up his CHERUB career, but I did kind of want him here with me.

Dan slipped his hand into mine, "I wouldn't miss it for the world,"

* * *

><p><strong>Emma<strong>

I looked out into the sky as the plane began to descend, my ears popping at the change in pressure. I was back in England again. I was going back to campus. And Anna wasn't going to be there. I'd rang her already on the flight- though I was pretty sure I wasn't allowed, and I'd had to do it very covertly. Andrew had answered and explained. The moron had gone without as much as a goodbye. I was angry at Anna, but I understood what she was doing. I would miss her though. A lot.

For twins who had never really been apart, we were surprisingly independent, but I could count on one hand the amount of times the two of us had gone without speaking or seeing each other for over three days. I'd miss the hell out of her stupid bigheadedness, her ridiculous claims and absurd ideas. Heck, I'd even miss her incredibly well planned out vengeance plans. Although maybe not them so much if they involved paintballing.

I wondered about Lola, and what would happen. I worried a bit, too. But Lola wasn't drinking anymore, and she was a lot better now. It was hard to think of her as my Mum though. I'd gotten used to my Mum being the drunken alcoholic. The real Mum was the one I would always call Lola. Because, really, the two different sides of Lola Simons were so contrasted, they could hardly be the same person, although none of that made much sense. At least Dad was there now- he could look after Lola.

I leaned my head against the window, staring at the clouds, and wondered if our family would ever sort ourselves fully out. Maybe we would, and life would be great. But if we didn't, hey, we were still family, and we'd still be there for each other. We'd stick together.

Anna had said that, once, amid a load of pathetic babbling. She'd decided not to go to CHERUB and split us all up. At the time, I'd been grateful for it, but I hadn't properly understood why she'd give up what she really wanted, and what she thought was right, for something she knew I wanted, and I thought was right. But now I did.

Families stick together, no matter what the disagreement, or the demands of each individual, no matter the struggles each one of them face. Because, in the end, family comes first. Always.

**The End**

* * *

><p>righto, down to business...<p>

actually not quite. google chrome is annoying me (im so sadly out of touch with the world. apparently this thing has been out for ages, but i only downloaded it last week. go me!) its saying that im spelling Arron wrong. it is also giving me several very weird other suggestions, like Aaron, Akron, Barron, Arson and Argon. Surprisingly, it hasnt suggested Argos. Does it have something against argos? I got this watch from argos once. Nice and cheap. £5 and it came with a little purse and necklace that matched it. I was about eight at the time...

Ramblings aside, I would like to thank you all for actually bothering to read this story and those of you who reviewed because ALL of you are eternally awesome. =D

Then, I am gonna write... (is it a sequel still, if its a sequel of a sequel... would it then be a threquel?) a third story, it'll, hopefully finish all of this off, so, no, ou haven't got rid of me quite yet. Sorry to disappoint =) I dunno when I'll start posting it, since, right now, it consist of about three chapters and not a lot of words, so you'll just have to bear with me for a while. When I _do _start posting it, I'll post something up here somewhere, like I did last time.

And... thats about it, actually...

I'll see you guys (not literally) sometime soon (hopefully) so, until then, don't eat greens (they kill you) running with scissors is most definitely considered dangerous, so only do it if you're incredibly bored and remember, be nice to people- they will then share their chocolate and cookies with you =)


	35. Author's Note

Ok, so for any of you still awaiting the next book, I have just posted it =)

It's called CHERUB: Endgame and, as you might have guessed from that title, there isn't going to be another book afterwards. I seriously have no clue what im going to do with my life after this...

oh well, I have until I've finished it and posted it all, at least\1 =)

anyway, if you want to go and read it, the first chapter (technically, its chapter_s _but let's just ignore that) has been posted =) I hope you enjoy it!


End file.
